Songbird
by DoeEyedDarling
Summary: Yang's behind bars, Abigail's in Uganda, and life is relatively peaceful for Shawn and Gus. But complications arise, as they always do, for our favorite detective duo when they enter the Psych office one morning to find a teenage girl sleeping on the couch. As if that weren't enough, there's a new serial killer in town - and he's showing no signs of stopping...
1. Prologue

**Hello, Psych fandom! This is my first Psych fic! I started this story back in January for one of my friends. I put a lot of work into it and recently thought, hey, maybe I should share it and get more feedback! So I started rewriting it and stuff...I hope you guys like it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Psych, unfortunately... All I own is my story and my OC :)**

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Prologue

The girl's dark, matted hair blended in with her surroundings as she snuck from one building to another, always skirting around the outside, using bushes, flowers, benches, anything to hide herself from view. Most fifteen year old girls wouldn't know how to move so silently in the dark, especially among dry branches and dead leaves...but, then again, she wasn't like most girls her age.

She shivered. The wind was picking up, and she could practically taste the incoming storm. She'd braved worse before, but her situation could be made infinitely better if she could only find somewhere to stay. She just needed an empty building and..._hm. _She paused, searching her hair for something..._Ha! There it is,_ she thought triumphantly, clutching the two bobby pins in her fist.

As she neared the end of the boardwalk, she noticed a few more buildings, all with the lights on. All except one...single story, one large window with words painted on, although it was too dark for her to make out clearly what they were. _Doesn't matter_. The lights were off and it looked empty, and that was good enough. After glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, she crept up to the front door, hairpins at the ready. She placed her hand on the doorknob...and, to her surprise, it turned easily.

Cautiously, she entered, tense as she waited to hear people talking, see shadows, some sign of life, but there was nothing. _Too good to be true,_ she thought, glancing behind her as she closed the door. _Most business owners are more careful than to leave the door open after they leave._ But she wasn't about to complain.

Inside were a couple of desks, a shelf along one wall, and a couch. _Perfect._ She checked her watch, the arms indicating that it was a quarter to twelve. She'd be able to get enough sleep to wake up at six-earlier, even, just to be safe-and would sneak out, dry and unharmed, and the owners of the building would be none the wiser. There was even an alarm clock on the desk, plugged into a nearby outlet. _Even better_, she thought, setting the clock for five-thirty AM before lying down on the couch and promptly falling into a dreamless sleep.

At two o'clock, lightning struck a nearby wire above the boardwalk. Lights flickered across Santa Barbara...and in one little one-story office, a digital alarm clock reset itself, the blinking 12:00 casting a red glow on the face of the petite brunette sleeping soundly on the couch just a few feet away.

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**Well, there you have it! In the next chapter I'll start to bring in the canon characters, and introduce them (and you) to their mystery guest. That is, if you guys want me to continue...so, what do you think? ****Please review, constructive criticism is always welcome! :)**

******xoxo,**

******DoeEyedDarling**


	2. First Impressions

**Hello again! First of all, HUGE thanks to TOW146 and zendog for reviewing! *hands out imaginary pineapples* Secondly, I'm going to try and update this once a week, I'm working on picking an exact day, but for now just expect an update sometime at the beginning of every week. Enjoy!**

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Chapter One: First Impressions

"Shawn? Why is the door of the Psych office unlocked?" Gus barked into the phone as he entered the office. He took a breath to continue, stopping when he saw the sleeping form on the couch.

"Buddy? You there?"

Gus slowly raised the phone to his ear again. "Shawn, why is there a girl on the couch?"

"Wait, what?" Shawn responded, genuinely confused.

"There's a girl sleeping on the couch in the office, Shawn."

"Gus, you know I'm in a semi-stable long distance relationship. Why would I order a hooker?"

"Not funny," he snapped back. "She looks young, maybe seventeen, tops. What do I do, Shawn? I can't wake her up, she might attack me!" His eyes widened as yet another horrifying possibility occurred to him. "What if she's rabid? She could be rabid, Shawn!"

"All right, all right, calm down. I'll be down in a second."

* * *

Upon entering the office, Shawn saw that Gus was right: there was, indeed, a teenage girl curled up on the couch, asleep. Gus was perched on the desk, watching her warily and holding a baseball bat. Shawn rolled his eyes. "Seriously, dude? You're afraid to touch her?"

Gus glared at him. "Look at her, Shawn," he hissed. "She could be dangerous."

Shawn took a closer look at the girl. Her hair, despite being tied back with a large red scrunchie, was tangled, and the plain red shirt and jeans she wore were slightly ragged. Overall, though, she looked like she made an effort to keep clean. _No makeup, cheap plastic-y watch, bare nails, white converse knockoffs-well, they probably used to be white..._"She doesn't look dangerous. A runaway, maybe."

"So...do we call the chief?"

"Well, maybe we could talk to her first. I mean, we don't know how she ended up here. Come on, Gus, a little courtesy!"

"I think we should call the chief…"

The two became so caught up in their bickering, they didn't notice the girl stir. She opened her eyes groggily, then shut them again and rolled over. Suddenly she sat up, staring at the two men with fear-widened eyes. Cautiously, she climbed off the sofa. _Maybe I could sneak out…_

"Stop!"

She froze, standing in the doorway, her eyes shut as she cursed internally. Reluctantly, she turned to face them.

"Who are you, and why were you on our couch?" Shawn was doing his best to channel Lassie, and while Gus found the effect comical, the girl appeared to be scared out of her wits.

"L-look," she stammered, "I-I'm sorry. It's just, I - it was raining, and the door was open. I didn't - I didn't mean any harm. I'll just go, I won't bother you again."

"You didn't answer my first question."

She paused, still wearing the frightened deer-in-the-headlights expression. "Aria. My name is Aria. Can I go now?"

"How old are you?" The girl didn't respond, instead turning to leave. "I can call the cops and press charges. How old are you?'

She lowered her eyes, caught. "I'm twenty one."

Shawn and Gus exchanged a look. _Yeah, right. If you're going to lie, at least say something remotely believable._ Raising a finger to his temple, he closed his eyes dramatically. "No! I'm sensing you're younger...thirteen?"

"Um...no…" Her expression shifted from terrified to confused.

He tried again. "Fourteen?"

Aria smirked, slightly amused. "Nope."

"Fifteen?"

She gasped in mock astonishment, clapping her hands to her cheeks. "Wow, how on earth could you have figured that out?"

"Psychic."

"Last time I checked, psychics weren't real."

"You were wrong. I am as real as you are...you are real, right? Or is this just one elaborate hallucination?"

"Yes!" she responded sarcastically, her eyes widening yet again. "This is totally just a dream! Close your eyes and count to ten and when you open them, you'll be awake. I'm not actually real."

"Please. Everyone knows you have to count to twenty one and a half to make yourself wake up from a dream."

"Uh, Shawn? Nobody knows that. That isn't a thing." Gus objected, wrinkling his forehead.

"Gus!" Shawn complained, "Don't be a microwaved iPhone." He turned back to face Aria. "So, you ran away from home? Do you live nearby? What's your last name?"

"No!" she protested - a bit too quickly, Shawn noted. "I mean, no, I didn't run away from home, yes, I live nearby. What actually happened…" She sighed. "God, it even sounds ridiculous in my head. Basically, I like to walk on the boardwalk during my free time, and I was out a little later than usual, and the storm came so quickly. I was just looking to keep dry. The power blew before I got a chance to call my mom, let her know where I was."

Shawn paused, thinking. "You're right. That does sound ridiculous. How about the truth?"

"That is the truth! I swear, that's what happened. Scout's honor." She held up her left hand eagerly. "So, um...I'm gonna go now, you forget about this encounter, and we part ways as unlikely friends," she suggested.

"Sorry, no can do," Shawn said, shaking his head.

For once, he and Gus were in agreement. "He's right. We need to at least call your parents."

Aria sighed. "Well, can I at least get your names before we start negotiating? You're full names. You've already got the home-court advantage. It seems kinda unfair."

"Shawn Spencer," the light haired one replied. "And this is my associate-"

"Burton Guster." He gave his friend a glance of annoyance.

"Okay...so, anyway, um, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Guster…nice to meet you...bye!" She bolted for the door.

Gus briefly considered chasing after her, but after a few moments, it became clear that Shawn had no intentions of doing so himself, so Gus abandoned that plan in favor of heading for his desk, glancing at his watch as he reset the alarm clock to the correct time. Shawn's gaze followed the the girl until she was out of view. "Gus."

His friend looked up. "Yeah?"

Shawn kept staring out the window. "Gus, she was lying."

"Yeah, she admitted it, remember?"

"What? No, not the age thing. I think the part about her being fifteen was the only honest thing she told us, that and her name. She was biting her lip after everything else she said, _and_ drumming her fingers against her leg. That, plus the shifty eyes, and the guilty run out the door? She's one of the worst liars I've ever met."

Gus furrowed his brow in confusion again. "So…?"

Shawn appeared for a moment to be deeply contemplating something, then shook his head. "I don't know, it sounded more dramatic in my head. Maybe I'm just hungry. Jerk chicken?"

"You know that's right."

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**So, that's Aria! You'll have to excuse her behavior this chapter - we all get flustered sometimes, right? ;) Until next time! Please review!**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	3. Of Gruesome Deaths and Petty Theft

**I'm ba-ack! :) Thank you so much to HamburgerLover25 for the review! Sorry if the first chapter was a bit slow, but I'm working on making the rest a little more interesting. This story takes place during season 4, so it starts off with Shawn and Abigail together (sort of, I guess, since she's in Uganda) but there will be some form of Shules. Cross my heart ;) Enjoy!**

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Chapter Two: Of Gruesome Deaths and Petty Theft

As Aria ran from the Psych office, all she could think about how idiotic she had been. Stuttering, biting her lip, making up a completely unbelievable cover story, running away like some criminal. She'd probably have to leave now; couldn't risk running into them again later. _Damn._ She'd been getting kind of attached to Santa Barbara. On the other hand, maybe it was better this way. _I could go back to New York._

Even the thought made her want to collapse in exhaustion. One cross-country trip was bad enough. Two _consecutive_ cross-country trips? _Not happening._

She did glance at the window of the building on her way out. Psychic Detective Agency? She didn't believe any of that psychic crap - she'd seen the way Spencer had taken in her appearance, from her dirty shoes to her messy hairdo. And despite what she'd hoped, she knew she was lucky if she could pass for eighteen, let alone over twenty - it wouldn't have been hard for anyone to call her out on the age lie. But after returning to the library, she'd done some research on the place, and the results were impressive. Huddled in her usual corner in the back closet, she poured over the articles she'd printed out. _Aw, they even have their own Wikipedia page - how cute._ Over one hundred cases, solved. Psychic or not, this guy seemed to be good at catching people, people even the police were unable to find. She could use that kind of help. Or at least that kind of protection. Honestly, any kind of protection would be better than her current situation…

_No._ There was no point. She'd already drawn enough attention to herself, and now she'd have to go.

_I could use some money, though,_ she thought, grabbing the clipboard, a sheet of looseleaf, and a pen from her bag. _Now, where did I put those glasses?_

* * *

The first thing Shawn thought when he and Gus arrived at the crime scene: _Blood._ So much blood; on the floor, on the walls, on the furniture. He didn't even need to turn around to know Gus had already gotten a running start out of the house.

"Shawn!" Juliet walked over, turning her head as Gus bolted past her. She looked at Shawn questioningly.

"Never mind him. So, what exactly happened here?" he said, waving his hands to indicate the mess around them.

She shuddered. "It's awful. Mother and daughter, forty two and fourteen. Tortured and killed, dead for approximately a day. We got an anonymous tip this morning, and the neighbors said they heard a scream earlier today. One woman said she looked out her window and saw someone running down the street, red shirt, hair hidden by a baseball cap, but she thought it was just some kids playing a prank."

Lassiter entered the room, walking carefully to avoid the chalk. "O'Hara, you filled him in?"

"Yeah, yeah," Shawn responded, waving Lassiter off. "But, if the blood's here, then...where are the bodies?"

"The whole house is like this, not just the entryway," Lassie answered. "Bodies in the living room. Straight ahead, first door to the right." He paused. "Where the hell is Guster?"

"Gus? He forgot to put on his Sea-Bands this morning." At that moment, Gus stumbled back into the foyer, his eyes squeezed shut, breathing deeply and bumping into everything in his way. "Gus! You're back! Come on, buddy." He stopped, remembering something, then turned back to face Juliet. "Wait, you got an anonymous tip? Saying what?"

"Um…" She checked her clipboard, flipping back a few pages. "It was a man's voice, saying that there was a dead body at eighteen twenty Burns Avenue, and that we go there immediately. We traced the call back to a pay phone a few blocks away." She looked back up. "Why?"

"Not sure." Shawn scratched his chin, grabbing Gus's arm and guiding him down the hallway.

* * *

"I don't get it. You didn't pick up on _anything_?"

Shawn threw his hands up in exasperation. "Man, I told you already, there was nothing there to pick up on." His phone rang again. "Chief? Again? Yes, we're coming." He looked up at Gus after hanging up, his forehead wrinkled in confusion. "She said we're needed at the station?"

When they got there, Shawn was expecting maybe a new tip on the case, something like that. Instead, he was met with… "Dad?"

"Good, you made it." Henry turned back to the sketch artist. "No, the eyes were a little bigger...not that big! We're talking about a person here, not a cartoon…"

"Yeah, Chief said it was urgent, and I can certainly see why. Dad, I wouldn't have to keep bailing you out if you chose to wear shirts that weren't so…" he shuddered. "I mean, look at that thing! That should be a federal offense, at least."

"Very funny, Shawn," Henry responded dryly. "No, actually, I came to report a robbery."

"What?"

"Yeah, some girl showed up at my house some ten, fifteen minutes ago. Said she was selling candy bars for school or something. I went to get my wallet, searched the whole damn bedroom before I remembered I'd left it downstairs on the mantel, so I came back down. When I got there, she was gone, and so was my wallet." He glanced back down at the picture the artist was offering. "No, the chin was a little more rounded."

Shawn and Gus exchanged confused looks. "So...why are we here, exactly?"

"Well, I though you could help me. You still owe me." Henry grinned triumphantly, before looking at the sketch artist's work once more. "That's it! Close enough, anyway."

"I owe you? From what? I'm sti-" Out of the corner of his eye, Shawn caught a glimpse of the picture. "Wait, that girl stole your wallet?"

"Yes, Shawn, that is what I was saying-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Shawn raised a hand for silence. _Big doe eyes, full lips, tousled hair pulled up and away from her face _- aside from the thick framed, retro style glasses, the resemblance was uncanny. Glancing up, he saw recognition dawn on Gus's face. "Uh, dad? We'll get right on it."

"What? Shawn, wait - " Henry's protests were lost as the two men exited the station.

* * *

Shawn wasn't sure how hard finding Aria the Teenage Narcoleptic ("Kleptomaniac," Gus corrected him. Whatever, he'd heard it both ways) would be. He most definitely, however, hadn't expected to walk into the Psych office the next morning and find her sitting on the couch again, waiting for them.

Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, a beat-up backpack flung on the cushion next to her, wide eyes glued to them as they entered the office. "Hi."

Gus eyed her warily. "Uh, Shawn, I don't think…"

"So...Aria, was it?" He waited for the girl to nod before continuing. "So, first things first. Where's the wallet?"

"What wallet?" she responded, a look of genuine befuddlement on her face.

Shawn rolled his eyes before flopping down on a chair in front of her. "You pretended to be selling candy bars to a follicly challenged old man yesterday, he went to get his wallet before realizing it was in the entryway, and when he came back, both you and the wallet were gone. So...where did it go?"

She raised her hands in submission. "Follicly what? And yes, I was going around selling candy bars for Girl Scouts. You know, the Crunch bars that are flavored like Thin Mints? I did, but I don't know about any wallet, I swear. I left because the man in question disappeared without saying anything and then didn't come back within the next ten minutes. Honest-to-God, I didn't steal anyone's wallet, okay?" She stopped mid-ramble, inhaling deeply. "Look, I just wanted to apologize again for any inconvenience I may have caused this morning. The way I ran out was incredibly rude, and you didn't deserve that, so..."

Gus's head perked up. "You're a Girl Scout? Here? In Santa Barbara?"

"Mm-hm."

"What's your troop number?"

"Four seven zero zero," she responded smoothly.

He snapped his fingers and pointed at her triumphantly. "Ha! There is no troop four seven zero zero in Santa Barbara."

"Yes there is," she laughed, dismissing his words with a wave of her hand, but Gus persisted.

"Last week, my place of business held a Girl Scout workshop. Every troop in the area was sent a letter of invitation, and not one single one of them began with a four," he gloated.

"Yes, Gus! You are on fire!" The two men high-fived each other. Shawn turned back to face the girl on the couch. "I knew there was no way you were telling the truth. And even if you can somehow explain that, how about all of the stuff from before?"

"Yeah," Gus agreed...and then shook his head again. "Wait, what?"

Shawn's shoulders drooped. "Gus, work with me here! Okay, first of all, no normal teenage girl walks on a boardwalk alone at night without her phone. No teenage girl's parents would be fine with that! Plus, do you see her hair?" He reached over and gingerly picked up her ponytail between two fingers.

Aria tried vainly to pull away. "Excuse me?" she said, offended.

"Yeah, it's pulled back, like before."

He raised a finger. "But it's tangled. Her jeans have holes in them, and not in the stupid 'fashionable' ripped-on-purpose way-"

"Shawn, you have a pair of ripped jeans-"

"Irrelevant. She has no nail polish, or makeup, her nails are all raggedy, and do you see how badly her clothes fit? They're practically hanging off her!"

"Hello!" Aria interrupted. "Are you going to accept my apology or are you just going to keep on dissecting my appearance?"

"Neither. I'm done breaking it down for Gus; now, I have some questions for _you_. One, did you ran away from home?"

"No."

"Do you live nearby? What's your last name?"

"No!"

Shawn raised an eyebrow. "No to what?"

"Either, both! And I don't have a last name. I…" She sighed. She was out of excuses, out of answers, out of time, and out of the energy it took to keep herself thinking straight. "I'm homeless. Born and bred. My mom died last year of...pneumonia, and my dad died before I was born. I've been on my own ever since." _Holy crap, why did I just tell him all of that? Idiot!_ She hadn't told him everything, not by a long shot, but she'd still said too much. When she spoke again, she sounded panicked. "Look, please don't report me. Please. I've seen my fair share of foster kids, I don't want a lifetime of being shunted between families. I'd rather have no family then that. Just let me go."

To her surprise, they didn't say anything. Instead, they turned their heads back, away from her, and began whispering to each other. And for some reason, she didn't leave. She just stood there and waited until their attention was back on her.

"Alright," said Shawn. "We have a proposal for you, Miss..." He stopped, looking at her expectantly.

"I told you, I don't have a last name. Aria is fine."

"Aria," interrupted Gus. "We work very closely with the police. You can stay with us until we can take you to the station later, and we'll see to it that you end up in a good home. That sounds reasonable, right?"

"Um, no? I have a better idea: you let me go, forget you ever saw me, I'll be out of Santa Barbara by tomorrow, and we part ways as unlikely friends," she suggested, hope in her voice.

"Sorry, no can do."

"Look, Shawn - Mr. Spencer - if you just forget we ever met, no one will be the wiser. Cool?"

"Nope." Shawn picked up a rubber ball off the desk and began tossing it from hand to hand.

"Well, um, I'm fifteen. Almost sixteen. I'll be a legal adult in, like, two years, and I've already been taking care of myself for a while now, so I don't need a babysitter, or a new home." She paused for a moment, considering. "Actually, I don't even know if I'll be legal."

"Huh?" The two men exchanged a confused look. "What do you mean?" asked Shawn.

"My parents were homeless, too. As far as I know, I don't have any legal records, so as far as the government is concerned, I don't exist. Which is why bringing me to 'the station,' as you call it," she said, making air quotes, "would just create a whole new situation, which would be a whole lot messier than pretending this never happened." She saw the papers strewn haphazardly across one of the desks - Shawn's, if she had to guess; he seemed much more laid-back than Gus - and continued, "Just think of all that paperwork. I get the feeling you guys don't really like paperwork."

"How can you tell?"

She snorted. "You claim to be the psychic, you tell me. The point is, it would be an unnecessary hassle, so let's not."

"Aria," Gus said kindly, "Look. I understand the police must seem frightening from your point of view, but we have to take into consideration that a fifteen year old girl, by herself...it doesn't seem likely that you'd be able to survive out there."

"Out there? It's a city, not a jungle."

"I've heard it both ways," Shawn cut in. "Look, Gus…" They began whispering again. Aria could just make out a few phrases:

"Let her stay…"

"Should still tell…"

"Come on, man...no harm…" Their discussion was interrupted by a vibrating noise. Shawn pulled out his phone and answered. "Jules? It's not really a great time...all right, we'll be there, I just need ten minutes. Bye." He hung up, then turned to the two others. "Okay, change of plans. Gus, Jules just called, another double homicide. We can't just let you go, Aria, no buts, but if you can take a shower in two minutes, we'll stop at my apartment, and get you some clean clothes, and you can come with us. We'll just tell them you're my little cousin or something."

"Um, no offense, but we look nothing alike."

"Trust me, they'll buy it. People always take lies better than the truth, for some bizarre reason."

"Shawn, I don't think-" Gus objected.

"Gus! Don't be Andie's dress from _Pretty In Pink._"

"Which one?" Aria asked.

"What?"

"Which dress? From _Pretty In Pink? _'Cause none of those dresses were really...um...aesthetically pleasing, to put it nicely."

"You're homeless! How do you know _Pretty In Pink_?"

"Who _doesn't_ know _Pretty In Pink_? What kind of uncultured swine do you think I am? Don't answer that," she said hastily. "And...I guess I don't have a choice but to come with you guys, do I?"

"Nope." Shawn held out a hand, and Aria looked at it for a long, long moment.

_This is a bad idea._

Yeah, it was, but she'd gotten herself into this situation. The way she figured it, she'd just have to play along until she could find a way out.

She grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. _Well, here we go._

"Fine. It's a deal."

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**So, obviously, you guys aren't obligated to review...but it would make me really happy if you did...Either way, until next time! :)**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	4. Introductions and Explanations

**Hello, my lovely people! Thanks to EmmaBrass and zendog for the reviews! *big hugs* I'm glad you guys think Shawn and Gus are in character, I'm trying my best to keep them that way. The cover for the story is a rough sketch of what Aria looks like - tan skin, big brown eyes, brown hair, full lips. I'll probably change it as I draw her in different poses and such, I'm working on a cover that includes Shawn and Gus as well. **

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Chapter Three: Introductions and Explanations

"What do you think?" Aria smiled broadly as she skipped out of the bathroom, holding up Shawn's shorts around her waist. She looked down. "I'm gonna need a belt, though…"

As she went back in to adjust the ensemble, Gus whispered, "Shawn, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I don't know, man, I just feel kind of bad for her. What would you have done if I came to you, weak and jobless and homeless, asking for help?"

"I would help you. You know that, Shawn." Gus gave Shawn a look. "I already practically support you as it is." He looked up as the girl entered the room again.

"I like it! It's kind of Audrey Hepburn-esque." With her big, dark eyes, delicate, exotic features, and prominent eyebrows, the girl did look a bit like a younger version of the actress, in a red button down shirt, which she had tucked into the waist of the denim shorts. Both were too big, but it was nice to have "new" clothes; she hadn't had any in a while. She definitely looked much more presentable now that she was completely clean, and her hair brushed. "Thanks for lending me your clothes, Shawn."

Gus's eyes widened in recognition. "Shawn! Is that my shirt? And my belt?"

Shawn gained a sudden interest in his watch. "Uh...no time to talk, we're late! To the Blueberry!" Gus clicked his tongue in annoyance as the three of them went out to the car, Aria rolling up her sleeves as she walked.

When they arrived at the house, her face lit up with a mix of fear and anticipation. "I've never seen a real crime scene before," she said excitedly. "But I used to watch old episodes of _Criminal Minds_ and_ Law and Order_ and stuff on the computer sometimes, whenever we'd stop at a library."

Shawn looked at the girl as they approached the house on foot, interested in this new insight. _So they were homeless, but she's obviously not dumb...they stopped at libraries. Did her mother homeschool her?_ "Library? Do you like to read?"

"Yes!" she replied enthusiastically. "I love books! My mom practically raised me in libraries!"

"Oh, yeah? Any favorites?" Gus inquired.

"Oh, God, there are so many! _Gone With The Wind_, _The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Silence of the Lambs…"_

"Shawn! Gus! So glad you're here," Juliet called out, walking to meet them on the sidewalk in front of the house. She slowed down when she saw the teenager walking between them. "And you are…"

"Meet Aria…Starling. She's my cousin, visiting from New York. Aria, this is Detective Juliet O'Hara."

"Oh my God, like Scarlett O'Hara? That's so cool! Nice to meet you, Detective." She extended her hand.

They shook. Juliet smiled back warmly, hiding her surprise. "Nice to meet you." She turned back to Shawn. "Your...cousin?"

Aria spoke before Shawn had a chance. "Yeah, we're related on my dad's side. My mom was West Indian, I got more of my genes from her," she said, gesturing to her dark hair and eyes and caramel colored skin. She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "But, um...yeah. Cousins."

"Oh, I see." Juliet nodded. "Um, Shawn, maybe one of you could wait in the car with her? It's kind of gruesome in there…"

"I volunteer as tribute!" Gus raised his hand, turning to grin at Aria. She smiled at the reference.

Later, as the two of them sat in the car - Gus in the driver's seat, Aria still in the back-discussing _The Hunger Games_ and _Harry Potter_, Aria grew restless. _I should have tried to escape. Why am I trusting two complete strangers? Why did I come back? Why couldn't that stupid alarm clock just worked, for God's sake? _In a way, though, she was glad. Something about the two men - the way they interacted with her, the way the interacted with each other - was just so...trustworthy. They made her feel safe, something she hadn't felt in a while. But Shawn and Gus had said they'd protect her. It didn't matter that they didn't know what - who - they were protecting her from, just the fact that she was no longer alone was enough. _Cousins,_ she couldn't help but think, remembering their cover story for her.

_Family._

* * *

"...I really thought they butchered the last book, in the movie version, though. Just the fight scene between Harry and Tom Riddle. It was perfect the way it was written. You know, just two men, walking in a circle and arguing in monologues. The movie jazzed it up too much. What do you think?" When he got no response, Gus looked back...to find the backseat of the car empty. _Wait, what?_

Meanwhile, Aria had managed to sneak into the house, receiving only a few odd looks from some of the officers along the way. _Yes! Victory is mine!_

"Excuse me, this is a crime scene, not a field trip. Who let you in?"

_...or not._ The tall, older officer was the only one who'd bothered to stop her on her way in. Aria smiled, making Bambi eyes at the man and holding out her hand - pulling the "cute and innocent" card had gotten her out of sticky situations before. "Um, hi. I'm Aria. Starling. Aria Starling, Shawn Spencer's cousin. From New York City. Nice to meet you?"

Instead of shaking her hand, his expression grew even stormier. "Spencer!" he yelled. "Why are you bringing the peewee squad to my crime scene?"

Aria was taken aback. "Excuse me? There's only one of me, and I'm fifteen." _Um, Aria? Arguing with this guy won't get you out of trouble._ "I'm sorry, what I meant was..." She paled when she saw Shawn enter the room.

"Aria? What are you doing here?" He paused to give the room a quick sweep, continuing when he saw no quarter-Jamaican man present. "And where's Gus?"

"Last time I checked, he was in the car, recapping the entire _Harry Potter _series and comparing them to the movies. I kinda snuck out," Aria admitted, grinning sheepishly.

Shawn turned to the officer. "Lassie, I see you've met my little cousin! She's visiting us from the lovely suburbs of New York. Aria, meet Head Detective Carlton Lassiter."

Lassiter squinted in confusion. "I thought you said you were from New York City…"

"Uh...I meant the suburbs near the city! I commute there. For school. I go to La Guardia." She grinned, pleased with her cover story.

He shook his head. "Never heard of it."

_Excuse me? _"_Fame? _High School of the Performing Arts? No?"

"The point is, you shouldn't be here. This isn't a day care center. Spencer, both of you, leave."

"Aw, come on Lassie!" Shawn wheedled. "She'll be good. Although Gus will probably freak when he notices she's missing."

Aria tried to stifle a laugh. "Please. He's probably still waxing on about Daniel Radcliffe."

"Shawn!" Gus burst into the room.

"Speak of the devil," Lassiter muttered.

"She's gone! We were talking, and then I turned around and she wasn't in the car! What do I…" He stopped as soon as he saw her, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Thanks for listening."

"No, no, no! Gus, you weren't boring or anything, I was just...I dunno, bored," Aria offered.

"Listen! All of you! You are interrupting a police investigation!" Lassiter called out in exasperation.

Aria shrank back. "Sorry...I didn't mean to get you in trouble, guys. I'll just go…"

"No!" Shawn and Gus exclaimed at the same time, exchanging a glance. Shawn spoke up. "So, tell us more about the guy so we can get on with it. Jules got called over by Dobson to check on something, and I was kind of just wandering around."

Lassie sighed. "Single mother and daughter, Diana and Meryl Rossley, ages fifty three and sixteen. It was messy: killer raped them both before slitting their throats." He ignored Aria's horror at hearing the gory details of the crime. "He left little to no evidence, removed all the knives from the kitchen, so we can guess he used one of those."

Shawn glanced around the room once more, and Aria noticed him squint slightly at something in the distance. He raised a finger to his head. "I am sensing that there were no signs of forced entry?"

The head detective raised an eyebrow. "Correct."

"So they knew the guy? You said the mother was single - vengeful ex-husband, boyfriend, maybe?" Gus asked.

"We're not sure yet. We'll check. In the meantime, why don't you two - sorry, two and a half - make yourselves useful and leave? " He smirked and walked away.

Aria stared at him incredulously as he left. "So, is there any particular reason why he seems to hate you guys?"

Shawn shrugged. "He thinks I'm a fake."

"Fake what?"

"Psychic."

Aria laughed. "Please, don't tell me you actually meant that before. There is no way you're actually psychic"

"Aria. Are you really going to doubt me? You're my little cousin! You're practically my little sister!"

"Yeah, except we only met this morning…"

"Sh!" Gus pressed a finger to his lips, glancing around nervously.

Aria plastered a serious expression on her face, but she couldn't help but let out a small giggle. "Right. Sorry. So...do we leave now?"

Now it was Shawn's turn to laugh. "Why, because he told us to? Aria, Aria, Aria." He placed a hand on her shoulder, bending down to her level. "If you're going to tag along with us, the first thing you need to learn is to never take Lassie seriously. Always disobey him, and make sure you go out of your way to annoy him."

"I'm beginning to get his thing against you now…"

"Never mind that. So!" He stood up and rubbed his hands together. "I say we scope out the scene a bit further, then stop for lunch."

"Yes!" Gus agreed.

Aria glanced up at the clock hanging behind them on the wall. "Um, you two do realize it's ten in the morning?" Her stomach contradicted her disbelief by growling, and she blushed. "I mean, not that I'm not hungry."

"Second rule," Gus said. "It is always a good time for food."

"Especially pineapple," Shawn added.

Aria nodded before registering what he'd said. "Wait, what?"

* * *

Ten minutes later, they all slid into the corner booth of a nearby pizzeria. Aria read the menu with wide eyes. "What am I supposed to get?"

"Whatever you want," Shawn suggested. "Don't worry, Gus will pay."

Gus gave him a sharp look. "What he means is, get whatever you want within reason."

"Yeah, yeah, of course," she agreed, still scanning the page. "Um...I guess a regular slice would be good." She looked up guiltily. "I still feel bad about making you guys pay, though."

"Well, you have to eat, don't you?" Gus pointed out. "Really, it's no big deal. I mean, what would you normally be eating right around now?"

"Whatever I can find or st-whatever I can find." Aria blushed. She had a feeling they wouldn't look kindly upon her stealing food, but she had never done it except in the most desperate of circumstances.

"Right." Shawn nodded, rubbing his hands together. "So, we really didn't get to talk much this morning. Tell us about...your life."

"My life? What about it?"

"Everything," Gus inserted.

She looked at them doubtfully. "Everything?"

"Everything."

"Well…"

* * *

**Please review! Pretty please with cherries on top? *makes Aria-esque puppy dog eyes* :) Either way, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	5. A Bit of Backstory

Chapter Four: A Bit of Backstory

She told them about her everyday life, how she and Mom would go to the library, or to see a free show in the park, or to Broadway theaters to gaze up at the brightly lit marquees and dream about what it must be like to enter the theater itself. How she inherited her love of opera and show tunes and old movies from her mother, how she had learned, through games of tag and of tossing back and forth Frisbees and baseballs found abandoned in the park, how bad of an athlete she really was, and how, overall, it really wasn't a bad life, if you knew where to find the Dumpsters with the freshest foods, which fountains had minimal security so that at night you could scoop out handfuls of shiny, wet coins, which parks had the best tree coverage in the event of a storm.

"...but then, last year, Mom got really sick - pneumonia, I think? Anyway, she died, and I was left on my own." She hummed music from Les Mis under her breath as she took another bite of pizza.

"That's awful," Shawn said sympathetically, as Gus began to tear up.

"Yeah." _If you only knew what really happened..._But she wasn't about to deviate from the pneumonia story. The real story of her mother's death - the real reason why, at fourteen, Aria had left New York City and traveled across the country - was a part of her life the girl had tried desperately to leave behind. "But enough about me. You two are obviously close - how long have you known each other?"

"I dunno. Forever?"

"Good enough. But what I really want to know is, why do you pretend to be psychic?"

Shawn rolled his eyes. "I don't _pretend_. I am. It is a gift that chose me."

"Right. I have a different theory."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep. I think you're just really observant. Maybe you have a photographic memory or something, I dunno, but either you're really, really good at drawing conclusions, or just incredibly lucky." She cocked her head, thinking. "Or both. I mean, don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna tell everyone. Anyone. I don't exactly have anyone to tell, anyway."

"I never admitted to anything."

Aria shrugged before finishing the last of the pizza. "Suit yourself." She stretched, relishing the warm, lazy feeling of having enough to eat.

Gus jumped in where the conversation left off. "So, why did you come back to the office this morning?"

"I…" Aria lowered her head, nervous. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday. With the fake Girl Scout troop and stuff."

"Aha!" Shawn pointed at her. "I knew it! Where's the wallet?"

"I - what? Oh my God, are we _really_ still on that? I don't know anything about a stolen wallet!"

"Riiiiight. And Patrick Swayze wasn't in _Footloose_."

"Patrick Swayze wasn't in _Footloose, _Shawn," Gus cut in.

"What?"

"He's right," Aria agreed. "Maybe you're thinking of _Dirty Dancing?_" Shawn gave her another incredulous look. "What?" she defended herself. She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Look, just because I live on the streets does _not_ mean I have no concept of pop culture, okay? And this only proves my point more. Patrick Swayze was not in _Footloose_, and I did not steal a wallet. That's not even what I was talking about!"

"Okay, then, Miss Homeless-Pop-Culture-Know-It-All," Shawn huffed, "what _were_ you talking about?"

She suddenly grew quiet again, her eyes darkening. "I was talking about the murder from yesterday. I'm the one who called in with the tip."

She had expected any reaction but the one she received, which was a minute of unbroken laughter from both men.

"What? I did!"

"Right! Sure!" Shawn said in between laughs.

"The caller was a man," Gus added, gasping for breath.

"Then how would I even know about the call? I checked the newspaper this morning, and that little detail wasn't released." Shawn and Gus's chuckled slowed down as they realized the valid point she was making. She continued, deepening her voice, "Hello? SBPD? There's a dead body in the foyer at eighty-seven Burns Avenue. Please come immediately. There's a lot of blood, she's a woman, middle-aged."

Shawn and Gus stared at her in horror, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads. "_That_," Gus finally said, "was creepy."

She shrugged, brushing off the comment. "I'm good at imitating voices and singing and stuff. I can't throw my voice, though...believe me, I've tried. Anyway, I...I do this thing sometimes when I really need money, where I go knock on people's doors and tell them I'm selling stuff, and that they have to pay up front. I don't ask for a lot," she added quickly. "Five dollars, max. If they try to buy more than that, I tell them we're out of stock or something. And I don't do it a lot, only when things are really really desperate." She looked at them helplessly, waiting for a disapproving glance or critical comment, but there was no visible response on either of their faces. "So, um, that house was the first one I went to. And I knocked on the door, and it just opened, like it hadn't even been closed to begin with, you know? And the lady fell, and when I looked past her all I could see was blood on the walls, and it made me rem-" She stopped short, squeezing her eyes shut. "Really scared. It made me really scared. I screamed for a second, I wasn't really thinking, but then I came to my senses enough to look at the house number and run. It was horrible."

Gus looked nauseated at the mere mention of blood, and just nodded in response. "Yeah, sure sounds like it," Shawn said, squinting in discomfort. He cleared his throat. "Well, don't worry about it. You did the right thing, calling the police."

"Yeah, I guess. It really freaked me out, and I though maybe if I came clean...I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking." She fidgeted, playing with the edge of her napkin. "So...where to next?" They hadn't discussed what they were going to do about her living situation since that morning, and she hoped to keep it that way for as long as possible. As soon as she had the chance to run…_Or, the desire to run, rather._ She couldn't help but bask for a while in the feeling of being protected, of being cared about. It was a feeling she hadn't had since Mom died, and it was one she didn't want to let go of any time soon.

Except that love was weakness. Her mother's love for Aria had gotten her killed. In a way, the past year's isolation had protected Aria because she didn't have to worry about anyone else getting hurt. After all, there was no one left for her to worry about.

And it needed to stay that way. _Which is why I have to leave as soon as possible._

"Well, we were going to go back to the station, see if they've made any progress in the last hour, but now I'm thinking..." Shawn ducked his head, avoiding eye contact with the girl.

"What?"

Gus explained. "It's not your fault, Aria, it's just, well...we're not sure how you being there will affect the investigation."

"Oh." Of course, after that morning, they didn't want her to interrupt anything. "Right. Well, I mean, I don't want to be in the way. I guess I could…" She paused, racking her brain for a solution. "I really don't know."

"Wait!" Shawn snapped his fingers. "I've got it."

"Shawn, you're not thinking…" Gus said warily.

"Aw, c'mon, man. It's perfect!"

"What?" Aria turned her head back and forth, looking between them.

Shawn leaned across the table. "I know someone who can keep an eye on you while we work."

"Really? Who?"

* * *

**Thank you to all readers, reviewers, followers, and...um, favoriters? (Is that a word? Guess it is now...) Love you guys! ;)**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	6. Procrastination

**Hello, beautiful people! Just wanted to let you guys know, although I will do my best to continue my weekly updates, school starts next week...and besides that, I'm in my school's annual Shakespeare production. I'm understudying a semi-lead, which is pretty exciting because it's the biggest part I've gotten in my school theater program so far, so I'm really psyched (pun intended) about that, buuuuuut it also means that I'm going to have to juggle rehearsal on top of everything else. So, I promise I'll try to update as often as possible, but if I'm a few days late, that's probably why. Just a heads up. :)**

**Anyway, here's chapter five! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Five: Procrastination

"This is your dad's house? But I - I didn't know - he's going to think I'm a thief!" Shawn ignored her, knocking obnoxiously on the door. The door swung open - _At least it's not a dead body this time,_ Aria thought. _Thank God for small blessings._

"Shawn! You're too late, it's over - I found my wallet behind the couch. It must have - you!" Henry's face lit up in recognition.

Pushing aside her nerves, she held out a hand and flashed a winning smile at the man before her. "So _you're_ Shawn's dad! I believe we met yesterday? I'm sorry for taking off like that, it's just that I had an appointment to go to, so I was on a tight schedule, and I thought you'd forgotten me, and, um...yeah." _I really need to work on the rambling thing..._

Henry looked at Shawn skeptically, spurring Shawn to jump in. "And you found your wallet, so everything's great! Dad, Aria. Aria, Dad, but you can call him Henry. She's a student at the high school, she's, uh, following Gus and me on an investigation."

"So, she's like an intern?"

"Yes? Yes, yes she is."

Henry squinted his eyes, searching his son for any signs of a lie. "Shawn, can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"I'd rather not..." He was dragged into the house anyway, leaving the other two on the porch. "What, dad? We just need her out of our way for a few hours, we'll pick her up at the end of the day."

"Okay, Shawn, what's really going on?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's going on."

"Right. You can't lie to me, kid. I raised you, remember?"

"Well, I wouldn't really call that raising...more like child abuse..."

"Cut the crap, Shawn. Is she a runaway? A witness to something?"

Shawn let out a deep breath. "All right, you got me," he whispered. "She's an orphan. Homeless. I accidentally left the office unlocked the other night, Gus came in and found her sleeping on the couch - look, it's complicated. She begged us not to turn her in, so we're just letting her hang around for a while until we figure out what to do."

"Shawn - "

"I know, I know! But she's starting to grow on me. She's like the pet dog you never let me have..."

"She's a girl, not an animal, Shawn."

"Fine, then, she's like the little sister I never had! Even Gus is having second thoughts. They bonded over _Harry Potter_. Anyway, we can't just send her away now."

"Shawn..." Henry sighed. "Fine. She can stay here for today. But what will I do with her? I don't know how to entertain a teenage girl! I could barely handle you as a teenager!"

"_Silence of the Lambs, Pretty In Pink, Dirty Dancing,_ and whatever books you have. Good luck." Shawn patted him on the shoulder before starting back outside. "All right, Aria, we'll come get you at around six o'clock. Have fun!"

The two partners practically ran to the Blueberry. Aria and Henry stood on the porch in silence for a minute or two. The girl finally spoke up. "Look, I promise I won't bother you or anything. I'm pretty good at entertaining myself, and I can be quiet."

He smiled at her. "No, don't worry about it. So, uh...do you like board games?"

"I've never really played…except, um, me and my mom played...have played...Scrabble a few times, but that's about it."

"You ever played chess?"

"No."

"You want to learn? Come on, I have a board out back."

* * *

"Chief! How nice to see you!"

Karen eyed the two consultants wearily. "Mr. Spencer, Mr. Guster, I don't recall hiring you for a case."

"Well, about that…" It wasn't until Shawn lifted the sneaker to his ear that the chief looked down and saw he was only wearing one shoe. "I got a very strong psychic message from this little plasticky piece that's on the end of my shoelace...an angler, I believe it's called…"

"It's called an aglet, Shawn."

"I've heard it both ways," Shawn continued, unfazed by Gus's correction. "Anyway, it told me you wanted our help finding the killer from this morning and yesterday." He paused, pretending to listen to the shoe with an intent look on his face. "It also says your suit is _very_ stylish."

"Thank y-" Chief Vick caught herself. "I am not talking with that thing-"

"-aglet," Gus interrupted.

"Whatever it is, but you are welcome to take a look at the case file and see what comes up. But, please, put your shoe back on first." She swept past them.

Shawn stuck his foot back in the sneaker, not bothering to tie the laces, before strolling over to sit on Lassiter's desk. "Lassie, what's up, man?"

"Spencer, I am not in the mood for any of your shenanigans today. Off. Now."

"Okay, okay, but first," Shawn stood up and raised a finger, "I'm gonna need to take a look at the case files. The mother-daughter cases"

"And why on earth would I do that?"

"Chief hired us."

Lassie rolled his eyes before reluctantly handing over the file. "Fine. Now get off." Shawn obliged, papers flying in all directions as he hopped off the desk and motioned to Gus to leave. "Spencer! Guster! You get back here and pick this up!" They ignored him as they left. "Spencer!"

* * *

"Okay," Shawn muttered, thumbing through the papers in the envelope as they drove. "So, they haven't found a match for the DNA, no drugs or poisons in any of the victims, and they believe that they may have known the killer. But there's no connection between the two sets of victims. One's caucasian, the other's Hispanic, the daughters were two years apart in age, went to different high schools-one went here, the other goes to boarding school but was back for summer."

Gus felt as though he might vomit when they entered the house, but he fought back the urge. The bodies had long since been sent off to the morgue, but the sight and smell of blood assaulted his senses. Please find something quickly, Shawn. He squeezed his eyes shut..._Wait. Is that…?_ He sniffed the air again. "Shawn."

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Do you smell that?"

Shawn turned around. "Smell what?"

"Jasmine." He inhaled again. "The blood smell was so strong I almost missed it."

"The Disney Princess?"

Gus clicked his tongue. "The flower, Shawn. It was all over the other crime scene, too, I just didn't think it was important. "

"So...the killer liked flowers?" Shawn looked around the room. "Let's go see the bedrooms."

"Yes," Gus said. _Anything to get out of here._

Thankfully, the bedrooms were clean - well, at least they weren't as bloodstained as the entryway and living room. The mother's bedsheets were pulled back and rumpled, the rug was and a lamp was lying on the floor in front of the overturned nightstand, shattered. The daughter's room was in a similar state. "Ok," Shawn began, scanning the room, "So he took them from their bedrooms while they were sleeping...but apparently they've only been dead for about a day. Then why…" He ran his finger across the back of the nightstand, then wrinkled his nose in distaste.

Gus looked at the dust, confused. "Older houses are supposed to collect dust faster than newer houses, but all the houses in this area were built only a year or two ago. So, if the nightstand was only flipped over yesterday - "

" - then why would the back of it have a layer of dust on it already?" Shawn finished. He looked up. "I don't think he killed them here." But the blood on the walls… "Or he had them somewhere else and then brought them here to kill them." He nodded at Gus. "Gimme that thing for a second." Gus handed him the file, and Shawn flipped through it again, looking for something, anything he might have missed. "I dunno, Gus, there's just not much here."

"Great. So what do we do now?"

"Well, it's only one seventeen," Shawn said, checking his watch, "so we've got almost an entire day to do nothing."

Gus pulled over by the Psych office, and the two got out. "Uh, Shawn, aren't you forgetting something?"

"Hm?"

"Aria."

"Who?" Shawn asked, still engrossed in the file.

"The girl, Shawn. Fifteen, about yay high, homeless?" Gus said, holding up his hand to indicate her height.

"First of all, 'yay high?' Who says that? And yeah, what about her?"

"As far as your dad knows, she's just another student at Leland Bosseigh High, a school that he went to and she knows nothing about. How long do you think it'll take him to get suspicious and start asking her questions she can't answer?"

"He won't."

"You don't know that, Shawn."

"Actually, I do, because he already figured it all out. He knows everything."

"Shawn!"

"Relax. I told him we're figuring out what to do with her. He won't turn her in. Yet."

"Can we at least go over there to check on them?"

Shawn rolled his eyes. "I guess we don't have anything better to do...oh, wait, that's right, there's just a murderer on the loose!" He sighed, dropping the case file on the dashboard. "Whatever, there's nothing here, anyway. Sure, let's go." Gus did have a point, though, he thought. If there was ever a stickler for the rules, it was Henry, and Shawn was pretty sure that keeping an underaged orphan girl away from the police wasn't exactly on par with California law. He tried to ignore his doubts. "But we have to stop at that new smoothie place on the way!"

Even after freezing his brain on a pineapple smoothie, Shawn couldn't shake the feeling that Aria was withholding information from him and Gus. It was in the way she sped up when talking about her mother's death, the way she drummed her fingers against the table nervously and stared at the ground. She was most definitely hiding something, something important.

And Shawn was determined to find out what that something was.

* * *

"So, how's it going?" Shawn walked up to the picnic table, where his father and Aria were engrossed in a game of chess.

Aria didn't look up from the chessboard. 'Wow, you guys are back early."

"Yeah, it didn't take us as long as expected to get our research done," Gus responded.

"So," Shawn said, smirking, "How badly are you losing, Aria?"

"Actually," Henry said, turning to face his son, "she beat me on her third try."

Shawn blinked a few times in disbelief. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me."

"There is no way! It took me over thirty years to beat you at chess! Unless you let her win, which you'd never do…" Henry winked at him, causing Shawn's jaw to drop in a look that clearly said, _You never let me win at chess!_ Henry shrugged, and Shawn closed his mouth indignantly. "Dad, can I talk to you? Inside?"

"Sure. Gus, you wanna take over?" Henry offered.

Gus's face brightened. "Sure!"

Once they'd shut the door, Shawn immediately turned on his dad. "Okay, so, first of all, what the hell? You never let me beat you at chess when I was a kid, and I'm your biological _son!_"

"She was a lot less annoying than you from the get-go, Shawn. And you still haven't said what you plan to do about her."

"I still don't know," Shawn admitted.

Henry sighed. "Well, you'd better figure that out soon."

"We will, we will, but in the mean time...can she stay here?"

"Shawn!"

"Dad. Look at that face." Shawn pointed out the window, where Gus and Aria were laughing and smiling broadly, the game of chess abandoned. "Don't make me bring her in here. Her puppy-dog eyes are killer. Plus, you still owe me from the time I repainted the house."

"Shawn, you were painting the house because you owed me a favor."

"Irrelevant. Please, dad, don't do it for me. Do it for the little girl." He pouted, hands clasped under his chin.

"I...I…" For once, Henry was at a loss of words. "Fine!" he spit out. "Fine. But only for a few days," he added.

"Really?" Shawn looked surprised. "Wow. That was a lot easier than I expected." He turned to look at the girl, then glanced back at his dad. "Aw, Dad, I get what this is about."

"Huh?"

"You miss me. You miss having a younger presence in the house." He opened his arms. "Come on, hug it out." His father shook his head. "Dad? Dad, don't just leave me hanging here. You know I have very poor circulation to the limbic regions." Henry rolled his eyes and walked away. "Dad!"

* * *

Aria spent one night in the Spencer house, and then another, and before she knew it, a week had gone by. Seven days of hot meals and a soft bed, seven days of pizza and jerk chicken and pineapple smoothies.

Seven more homicides. All of them single mothers with teenage daughters. The body count grew with each passing day, and so did Aria's dread.

_I should tell them_.

_Oh, yeah? And what would you say? "Well, I have no idea what his name is, his age, or what he looks like, but I might have heard his voice once, a year ago, and, oh, yeah, on the other side of the country, AND I was passed out for most of the time I knew him. Does that help?"_

The rational part of her knew the the statistical improbability of Him going through the trouble of following her all the way to California. _That would be crazy._ But she couldn't quite kill the sinking feeling in her stomach that told her otherwise.

It was just as she'd remembered. The autopsies had shown traces of chloroform in all of the victims, and the newspaper descriptions of the blood on the walls conjured up fresh memories of her own living nightmare.

Still, she persisted in her belief that it wasn't Him, it was just some other sicko who happened to have a similar M.O. That was possible, right?

He wasn't back. He couldn't be.

At least, that was what she hoped.

* * *

**And on that note, I have a couple of questions for you, dear readers.**

**1) Is Aria too Mary Sue-ish? I'm afraid I might be a little biased when it comes to judging my characters, so any views on that would be greatly appreciated.**

**2) I have a couple of flashbacks written about Aria's life before she ended up in Santa Barbara. Now, I could wait for much, much later chapters to add them in, or I could post the first one as next week's chapter. Which would you prefer?**

**As always, constructive criticism is welcome! Enjoy what's left of summer, my lovelies, and I'll see you soon. :)**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	7. First Flashback

**Hello, again! So, in my last update, I mentioned that I had a couple of flashbacks prepared, and since this one is so short, I thought I'd add it in a few days earlier than usual. Enjoy!**

* * *

_**One Year Earlier**_

_He had been waiting for the late train, one of the only people left in the normally crowded tunnel, when he saw a slight movement in the shadows. The dim lights set off her face perfectly, highlighting every angle and reflecting off her wide, vibrant brown eyes. He didn't notice the dirty clothes or the messy hair at first, but when he did, he immediately pulled a wad of cash out of his wallet, walked over, and placed it firmly in her hand, keeping eye contact with her the entire time._

_"Thank you," she murmured, smiling broadly. Even her voice was musical, he marveled. _

_"It is my pleasure, Miss..."_

_"Calliope. Please, call me Callie," she answered, obviously surprised. It had been her experience that "normal" people didn't bother to strike up conversations with homeless women in subway tunnels._

_Internally, he scoffed at her gullibility - just like that, he'd managed to get her name - but he still flashed a dazzling smile at her. "That's a beautiful name. Calliope, Greek muse of music and poetry."_

_She chuckled. "Yes, well, my parents loved music. I guess it's becoming somewhat of a tradition, because I named my daughter Aria."_

_Daughter? "You have a daughter?"_

_She shifted over a few steps, revealing a young girl - twelve or thirteen, he estimated - curled up behind her on the ground, eyelids fluttering as she slept, one arm across her stomach, the other cradling her head. _

_That complicated his plans, because he was always very thorough in adding new pieces to his collection - he'd have to deal with the daughter, too, in order to finish the job properly. She wasn't anywhere near as pretty as her mother yet, especially asleep, but she'd do._

_Yes, he thought. They'd both do quite nicely._

* * *

**Reviews always make my day! *wink wink nudge nudge* Also, because this is a really short installment, ****expect another update this Sunday or Monday. :) **

**xoxo, **

**DoeEyedDarling**


	8. Starbucks!

**Huge thanks to Abby2014, Summer Jackson, TheShulesLovinPs(ycho?), and Paw for your words of encouragement! ****Reviews always brighten my day. Everyone who has ever read, or reviewed, or favorited, or followed Songbird, you are beautiful, beautiful people. **

**TheShulesLovinPs: I'm glad you find it intriguing! The Mysterious Man From Aria's Past (that's his name for now until I can come up with something better...) will definitely play a big part in this story.**

**Paw: The fact that you reread/changed your mind about my story makes me happy. Like, super duper extra happy with chocolate whipped cream on top. So...thank you. :) I do have some cliffhangers planned for the future, but I may increase the frequency with which I update chapters, based on how soon I finish writing the story itself.**

**Stay fabulous, everyone, and enjoy Chapter Six :)**

* * *

Chapter Six: Starbucks (In Other Words, Aria Tries To Turn Lassie Into A White Girl)

"Starling!"

Aria let out a quiet groan before turning to face Lassiter. "Yes?"

"I told Spencer to stop bringing you to my crime scenes. Leave." The older detective pointed to the exit, jaw clenched in annoyance.

"Um…" She looked down, then held out her Starbucks. "For you."

Lassie looked at the offered beverage with narrowed eyes. _"That_ is a cappuccino."

"Frappuccino," she corrected.

"Well, I don't drink anything with whipped cream on it. Or hot fudge. I take my coffee black."

She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Ew. That sounds disgusting. Also, it's mocha, not hot fudge, and it's not just whipped cream. It's _chocolate _whipped cream."

Lassiter appeared unconvinced. "Right. Next you're going to be telling me it isn't poisoned."

Aria quirked her eyebrow. "Well, the thought hadn't entered my mind, but no, it isn't poisoned. You do realize I'm only fifteen, right?"

"You're right. You are fifteen. So why aren't you in school?" he countered. "It's September. You should have been back in New York by now."

"School starts later in New York than it does here."

"Right." Lassiter paused for a moment. "You know, it's interesting, you said you commuted to La Guardia School of Performing Arts from the suburbs? Funny, they don't allow applications from residents outside the city."

_Wait, they don't?_ "Um, special circumstances. Coffee?" she repeated, giving him her patented puppy-dog-eyed smile. Shoving the cup into his hand, she breezed past him.

"Wait, what are you-" He followed her to the next room, but the girl was gone.

_Thank God for walk-in closets._ Aria left the door open a crack to peek through. Seeing Lassie give the coffee a suspicious look before gingerly sipping it as he left the room, she giggled. _That was almost worth giving up my Starbucks for. Almost._

Shawn and Gus, naturally, assumed she was at Henry's house, but Henry had a fishing trip, so she'd told him she'd stay with Shawn and Gus, and unless one of them called the other - which, judging by Shawn's interactions with his father, was extremely unlikely - she would be fine. Tip-toeing down the hall, she found that the actual crime scene was, conveniently, empty.

It took a moment for her to gather up the courage to enter, but she knew it was unlikely that the room would be vacant for very long. Before this, she'd only seen the pictures in the paper; she had to see the real thing at least once, in person, to know if her instincts were right.

_Oh, my God._

All at once, everything came flooding back. The dried blood painting the walls, the bruises and scratches on the bodies that rang up images of the marks on her mother's neck, the distinctive scent of jasmine that lingered in the air.

_It's Him. _

* * *

"Lassie knows something's up."

"Meaning..." Gus prompted her, swatting at Shawn's hand as he tried to steal one of his fries.

"Meaning, he doesn't trust me. Although he did accept my coffee this morning, when I offered it to him."

"Wait," Shawn said, raising a finger. "He did _what?_"

"Um, funny story, I sorta maybe kind of snuck on to the crime scene, and he caught me, and I gave him my Starbucks to distract him." Before either Shawn or Gus could reprimand her, she moved on, "_But_ that's a story for another time. Anyway, he knows I don't actually go to school in the city, and he has enough common sense to know that I should be in school by now."

"Right. So, the problem is...?"

_If I just run away, they might send someone after me. _"I can't stay much longer, Shawn."

"What do you mean, you can't - "

"I mean I have to leave, okay?" _There. I said it._ "Look, I know you guys mean well, but I can't stay in Santa Barbara anymore, alright? I have to go." Lassiter's suspicions were well-timed, providing her with an excuse to leave.

"Aria, we can't just let you leave - " Gus began.

"I can't stay here anymore!" she exploded, sparking looks from people at nearby tables.

Shawn and Gus looked each other, conversing silently. "One day," Shawn finally said.

"Give us a day to come up with a plan," Gus added.

"Fine." Maybe running away would have been a better option.

"And no trying to sneak off in between."

"What? No, I'd never - "

"Yes, you would," Shawn interrupted. "Aria, I was the master of breaking rules when I was your age."

"Still are," Gus muttered.

"So, tonight, you're not staying with my dad. You and Gus and I are going to stay at Gus's place tonight."

"Uh, Shawn," Gus interjected, "I've been staying with you ever since they started fumigating my apartment."

"Right." Shawn cleared his throat. "Change of plans, we're going to stay at my place tonight."

Giving up her protests, Aria nodded and smiled, faking excitement. _Damn._

* * *

_Tumblers. It's all about the tumblers._ Aria stroked the bobby pin across the inside of the lock, glancing nervously back at the two sleeping men each time she heard a click._ Please don't wake up._

Shawn's apartment was...interesting, to say the least. Apparently it used to be a dry-cleaning place. They'd stayed up until about midnight watching 80s movies and eating anything and everything they could find, and Aria had spent the entire time wishing they'd fall asleep already.

_It was nice while it lasted, though,_ she thought, letting out a breath of relief when, at long last, the knob turned. With one final look behind her, she pulled her backpack onto her shoulder and slipped out into the night.

* * *

_"I think you deserve more than popcorn tonight," Juliet whispered, blue eyes shining up at him._

_"I agree," he replied, stunned that this moment, a moment he'd waited so long for, was finally becoming a reality. Without warning, the scene switched to a restaurant. He was relieved to see that Jules was still there, sitting across from him._

_"May I take your order?" Shawn looked up at the familiar voice._

_"Abigail?"_

_"Were you thinking about me?" She smiled weakly. "I hope you were." As she spoke, her lips pulled back to expose her teeth. Her hair curled and began to change color, darkening to a dull black, as did her eyes. She didn't look remotely like Abigail anymore, with her cheeks sunken in and that maniacal grin still plastered on her face._

_"Think about it, Shawn," Abigail-Yang said. "On your _date_ tonight."_

Shawn bolted up, rubbing his head and squeezing his eyes against the light streaming in from the windows. He'd been having this particular nightmare quite a few times in the last week or so since Abigail left, and he wasn't sure why it bothered him so much. That was a lie; he knew exactly what the problem was. He couldn't stop focusing on Jules's face, the twinkle in her eyes when she invited him to dinner, the shock and embarrassment when he turned her down.

He wished more than anything that he could have said yes. True, Abigail had left their relationship status fairly ambiguous, but he knew he'd still feel like he was cheating on her if he made a move on Juliet before he was clear on whether they were still a couple or not. _Everything's been going wrong lately._ Well...not everything was "wrong," exactly. Aria, for example - it was strange having to keep an eye on a teenager, especially a girl, but he and Gus had grown used to her presence over the past week. She was beginning to feel like a part of the family, in a way. He looked over to the couch to see if she was still aslee - _Wait. _He glanced over to the bathroom, but the door was open and the lights off. When he saw that her bag and shoes were missing, he knew.

_She's gone._

* * *

**Aw, poor Shawn, having to angst over Jules vs. Abigail. :( So, any ideas where Aria's off to? And how far will she get before Shawn and Gus come after her? Stay tuned for more. ;) **

**Kisses,**

**DoeEyedDarling**

**P.S.: In regards to the chapter title...maybe it's just me, but I crack up at the thought of anyone accusing Lassie-face of being a stereotypical "white girl," because he is just the complete opposite. :P :D So...yeah.**


	9. Complications

**HI GUYS! I survived the first week of school! Yay! Thank you, TheShulesLovinPsycho and Summer Jackson, for your reviews. I'm going to go attack my homework now...Enjoy Chapter Seven!**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Complications

_Well, that didn't exactly go as planned..._

Aria sat on the hard plastic chair, tapping her fingers against the table until Lassiter entered the room. _Of course._ "Lassie!" she exclaimed, as brightly as though they'd simply run into each other on the boardwalk. "Long time no see! I wish I could offer you coffee this time, but I'm kinda empty handed at the moment." He glared at her, unresponding. "Um, I do have a Crunch bar in my bag, if you're really that hungry. Or I could whip up something else. I mean, I don't exactly have a fully equipped kitchen in there, but I can be pretty resourceful, right?"

"Resourceful, huh?" He grinned, setting a grainy photo on the table. The image was black and white, fuzzy, extremely bad quality, but it was clearly a picture of a girl with long, dark hair crouched in front of the door of an apartment building. "Resourceful enough to illegally break into an abandoned building that was suspected to be the headquarters of a major drug ring?"

She raised her hands defensively. "Hey, it's not my fault! You see, this is why I should be in on these thing! I wouldn't have barged in there if I'd known you were staking it out. I mean, I'm not looking to obstruct justice or anything."

"Oh, really? Well, last time I checked, breaking and entering was a felony, and despite your intentions, you did obstruct justice. But that brings me to my next question: what exactly were you doing there last night, anyway?"

"I-I..."

"Lassie!" Shawn burst into the room, followed by Gus. Aria stifled a giggle at seeing that the both of them were still in their pajamas.

"Oh, God, more of you," Lassiter muttered, rubbing his forehead. "So, Spencer, we have video of your little _cousin_ here picking a lock to enter a condemned building, disrupting a stakeout in the process. Care to shed some light?"

"Yes! Aria, Aria, Aria," Shawn said, crossing around to give the girl a hug.

"Wha - " Her protest was quickly stifled when her mouth was blocked by the fabric of his pajamas.

"We know you're upset, and that's totally understandable," Gus picked up where Shawn left off. "But running away isn't going to fix any problems."

"I'm sorry, what - "

Shawn interrupted Lassiter. "Lassie, some respect for the recently beavered."

Both the officer and the girl looked up at him with knitted brows. "He means bereaved," Gus explained hastily.

"Aria,"' Shawn continued, "We're so sorry about your parents." After a moment, Aria, finally catching on, began to sob, as did Gus.

"But," Gus choked out, struggling to compose himself, "they faxed over the will last night while we were sleeping."

Lassiter looked from one man to the other, evidently confused. "Would someone please - "

"Aria's parents died in a car accident," Shawn explained.

"They left Shawn to be her legal guardian," Gus blurted out.

"Wait, what?" the three others asked simultaneously, staring at Gus incredulously

Aria tried to untangle the situation. "Lassie, we need a moment. Please." Shawn and Gus followed her out of the room. She turned on them as soon as the door shut, crocodile tears still fresh on her cheeks. "Okay, what? Also, _what_?"

Shawn looked to Gus. "Gus, the plan was to say my dad was the legal guardian, not me!"

"Shawn, you said very specifically in the car that - "

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did - "

"GUYS!" Aria snapped. The two silenced immediately. "Okay, we have less than a minute to get back in their before Lassie gets suspicious enough to come out here. Thank you for getting me out of trouble, but the idea was that I end up far away from Santa Barbara, not stuck here with you guys as my _parents!"_

"Yeah, well, you were the one who ran off! You were supposed to give us a day to figure things out! That was the deal!" Shawn shot back.

"Look, I didn't feel safe here, okay? Too many serial killers for my taste, and it's easier for me to keep a low profile when I'm by myself, as in, alone! No legal guardian! Why couldn't you have just let it go?"

"Okay, okay, look," Gus said, trying to ease the tension. "Whatever the original plan was, Lassiter doesn't really trust you as it is. Any of us, actually."

"You think I don't know that?" Aria pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be blowing up at you guys, it's just none of this..."

"I'll do it."

"What?" The girl looked up at Shawn.

"I'll...I'll adopt you, okay?"

"But...I can't do that to you guys. And I met you about a week ago. And, and, and this is just a bad idea, okay?" Aria protested. _No, no, no, this was not supposed to happen._

"Well, it's not like we really have a choice now," Shawn pointed out. Gus glanced around them nervously to see if anyone was close enough to overhear their conversation.

"Well, we could...I mean..." she stammered, out of ideas. "And, Shawn, you have a girlfriend, right? What are you gonna do, wait until she gets back from Africa or wherever and be like, 'Hey, sweetie, we have a teenage daughter to take care of! Happy homecoming!'"

Gus nodded, shrugging his shoulders in agreement. "She has a point, Shawn."

"Oh. Right." As Shawn pondered the question, he found his mind wandering not to his current girlfriend, but to the image of a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed detective. "Right! Gus, you know Abigail loves kids! She'll be thrilled!"

"So you're not even going to talk to her about it beforehand?"

"Psh. What she doesn't know for now won't hurt her. And she'll understand." _Or she won't, and she'll break up with me so I don't have to. Win-win, right?_ "So," he continued, nodding towards the interrogation room. "Shall we break the good news?"

"But..." Aria had no arguments left. And, as Gus had said, they didn't really have any other options. "Fine." The situation was out of her control. Taking a deep breath, she conjured up some more fake tears and opened the door.

* * *

**So, Aria's escape plan failed. And now she's stuck with Shawn as her legal guardian! I honestly don't know who to feel worse for...This scene was probably the hardest for me to write, so let me know if any of the characters are OOC in any way and I'll do my best to improve it. Thanks for reading! :)**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	10. An Unpleasant Surprise

**Hey, there! Nice to see you again. :) Big hugs to Paw for the review! *presents Paw with pineapple upside down cake* I'm glad you liked the previous chapter. This chapter has a little scene, originally written as a oneshot, that I thought was a cute (albeit short) way to show Shawn and Aria's interactions after a month or two of living as a family, and I'm looking forward to exploring the changing dynamic between them (and the rest of the characters) as the plot moves forward. :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Eight: An Unpleasant Surprise

_Flashback #2_

**_One Year Ago_**

_He had followed them for a month, observing their routine of life, the patterns in which they traveled around and returned to the same parks, the same dumpsters, the same subway tunnels, like two moons waxing and waning. Capturing them had been almost painfully easy; he'd merely snuck up behind Callie with chloroform while the two were sleeping one night. The daughter slept through the attack, but he chloroformed her as well before throwing her in the van. Just to be on the safe side._

_Child's play, really._

_The mother opened her eyes first. There was sufficient light for her to see clearly, but she didn't recognize him immediately. When she finally did, she whispered weakly, "You," pointing at him in accusation as she tried to shield her unconscious daughter with her body. "You're the man from the subway! You gave us money..."_

_"Callie, Callie, Callie," he chuckled. "Like most of the world's successful individuals, I never do anything for others without getting something in return."_

_"But why...why me? Why us?"_

_"Callie. I always get what I want. And I wanted you. It's so unfortunate your daughter got roped into this, but I can't have one of you and not the other. But we'll have time later to talk. I'll leave you to tend to the girl, for now." He left so swiftly, Callie had no time to ask any more questions._

_Once he was gone, leaving the scent of jasmine flowers behind him, she shook her daughter's shoulders gently. "Aria," she whispered urgently. "Wake up, sweetie."_

_After a few seconds, Aria's eyes fluttered open. "Mom? What - how..."_

_She grabbed the girl and held her close, the way she had when she was a baby, so tightly that Aria could feel her mother's heart against her own, both pulsing at the same tempo. "Don't worry, sweetie. We're going to get out of here. I promise."_

* * *

**Present Day**

"Shawn!" Aria yelled, shutting the fridge door. "We're all out of peanut butter! And pineapple juice!"

"Alright, I'll pick it up later." Shawn ambled into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.

"Right, so I should ask Gus to get it. Actually, I was gonna ask if I could walk down to the grocery store after school, anyway. I need some stuff."

"Stuff?" He yawned. "What kind of stuff?"

Aria looked uncomfortable. "Um...stuff stuff? Supplies. Stuff that I need that I'd rather get myself."

"Okay. So...what kind of stuff?" He scratched his head.

"Nevermind." She grabbed two waffles and shoved them in the toaster oven.

"What - Aria, you can't just tell me you need mysterious stuff and then not tell me what it is! You can't torture me like this!"

"Trust me, you'd rather not know."

"But…"

She sighed. "It's girl stuff," she finally explained, turning around to face him.

"Ohhhh," he said, nodding his head. He paused for a minute. "Nope, still don't get it."

"It's...it's just stuff, okay? It's stuff I'll be needing every month, too, so you'd better get used to the secrecy."

"Wait!" he exclaimed. Aria raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Silver bullets! Or chains! You're a werewolf and you need to be able to protect the world from yourself!"

"Oh my God, Shawn. You seriously haven't figured it out?"

"...Was I supposed to?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...was I at least getting warmer with the werewolf thing?"

Aria threw her hands up in the air. "I give up." Shoving a waffle in her mouth, she grabbed her books and bag and headed for the door. "See you later!"

It had been two months since she'd started school, and Aria still hadn't tired of walking back and forth every day. They'd never really been able to afford taxis or subway rides back in New York, and it wasn't like they had been rushing to get anywhere. The weather in Santa Barbara was much better than the smoke and heat of the city in summer, but the sensation of walking, bouncing slightly with each step, the concrete level and solid beneath her feet, was the same no matter what. If she closed her eyes and breathed through her mouth, it was easy to pretend that it was any other day, that she was back in New York with Mom strolling along besides her. She half expected it to be real, but then she'd open her eyes and see the boardwalk, smell the clean, salty air, and the illusion would vanish.

It was getting easier. She still missed Mom, missed her old life, but every day the pain was a little less. The daily killings had, for some reason, ceased a month earlier. And with each day that passed without Him showing up, she felt a little safer, the constant paranoia giving way to a sense of calm and ease. She was finally safe. She finally had a life.

And it wasn't a bad life, either. She'd made one or two friends, joined the drama club and show choir, and steered clear of anything resembling organized sports, except in gym, which she couldn't do anything about, despite her pleas to Shawn for a forged doctor's note. She soon found that some subjects made sense - like evolution - and some didn't - hello, trigonometry - but that, in the end, complaining about her math teacher to Shawn over dinner wasn't going to keep her from failing a pop quiz the next day. Her new bedroom - a.k.a. Shawn's walk-in closet - although small, was actually kind of cozy, in a way, with shelves on the walls where she kept her new clothes and books she'd found in Henry's attic.

She even had a cell phone, an unfamiliar item, complete with a little green Psych iPhone case donated by Shawn and Gus. The two spent over an hour teaching her the various uses and settings, how to text people, how to create contacts for them and her school friends. They hadn't told her, however, what to do in the event of a call from "Private Caller," a name which was now flashing across her screen.

Huh. _Do I pick up? Would it be rude to ignore it?_ She swiped the screen to answer, lifting the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, little bird. Long time no talk," purred the voice on the other end.

Chills immediately spread across her body. Because she'd heard that voice before. Once two years ago, and again a year later.

And, as a result, Mom was now dead.

* * *

**THE END**

.

.

.

**Just kidding! AND ****I KNOW IT'S KIND OF SHORT AND A CLIFFHANGER AND I'M SORRY AND PLEASE DON'T KILL ME. *ducks to avoid flying pineapples* Second week of school (HOMEWORKHOMEWORKHOMEWORK EATS UP MY LIFE) + memorizing lines and blocking for the Countess of Roussillon +memorizing choir music + trying to figure out how to run the Costumes division of my school drama program because last year's seniors didn't really teach us how to do so, so now I, who have only been in the program for one year so far, has to make it up as I go along, so yeah + trying to memorize a Chopin etude (DEATH TO C SHARP MINOR) + cold/laryngitis/whatever-the-heck-causes-a-sore-throat-and-headache = a very run-down DoeEyedDarling. **

**BUT, since this chapter is fairly short, expect another one soon. **

**As always, reviews are beautiful things, and constructive criticism is always welcome! I would love to get any feedback as to how I can improve my writing. :)**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	11. Cat and Mouse - I Mean, Bird

**I'm back! Thank you, Summer Jackson, TheShulesLovinPsycho, and Broadwaygirl21 so, so much for the reviews! I heart all of you guys! So, the creepy guy calls Aria...but who exactly is "He?" To be honest, I'm not sure if Aria really knows herself. ****Enjoy!**

******Also, just a quick note: this story's going to get kind of dark. Nothing M rated, but...dark (Dark = whumpy). Just a heads up.**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Cat and Mouse...I Mean, Bird

_Previously on Songbird:_

_Aria swiped the screen to answer, lifting the phone to her ear. "Hello?"_

_"Hello, little bird. Long time no talk," purred the voice on the other end._

_Chills immediately spread across her body. Because she'd heard that voice before. Once two years ago, and again a year later._

_And, as a result, Mom was now dead._

* * *

"I can see you, little bird. I know you're there. And believe me when I say it would be better for everyone - you, me, your little family - if you'd just answer, nice and calmly. No screams, no fainting, no calling the police."

Her stomach was already churning at the sound of His voice, but her blood turned to ice when He mentioned her _family._ Shawn and Gus, and Henry, and Juliet and Lassie. _Oh, God, He knows._ He'd been watching her, and He knew.

"What do you want?" she whispered, grabbing the arm of the sofa to steady herself as she sat down, shaking.

"Isn't it obvious, little bird? You and your adoptive family - you all are quite adorable, I must say - have been working on that case. Or, were, at least - once you made it clear that you were here to stay, I had no reason to continue."

"Continue? I don't - I don't understand - "

"Aria, Aria, Aria. Come, now, you used to be so bright. Surely you haven't been dumbed down by a few months of civilian life? What I'm saying, quite simply, is that I want to finish what we began in New York. You remember how I got your mother? Mama bird's flown from the nest, and now I want _you."_

Aria thought her heart had stopped beating when she heard that.

_Now I want you._

"My mother didn't _fly the nest,_ she didn't abandon me, you - but it doesn't matter now," she choked out, barely believing her own words.

"Tsk, tsk, my dear little songbird-"

"Don't call me that."

"Don't you like it? I thought it was fitting, since your name means song, and you love to sing. Just like your mother - do you still like opera?"

"Leave me alone." She added a bit of steely resolve to her tone, but she couldn't keep her voice from shaking.

"Ah, ah, ah, temper, temper. I don't like your tone, miss."

"I don't care."

"Well, perhaps you don't care for your own safety, but you seem to care a great deal for your new family. I've been bird watching for a while now, Aria. I've never been quite able to catch you, but now...well, now you've boxed yourself in rather nicely, haven't you?"

She sucked in a deep breath, trying to stop her head from spinning. "I-I don't understand."

"Your police connections don't mean anything to me, little bird. Tomorrow night, ten o'clock sharp, you will meet me on the corner Miller Road and Wilbert Avenure. I'll be driving a black car. You'll know it when you see it. You will make up some excuse that will allow to spend the weekend away without causing suspicion. I'll even let you go back on Monday, if you behave well. You won't tell anyone about this - you know I have my ways of finding out if you do, and then...well, let's just say your _cousins_ won't enjoy the result."

"Wait, I-"

_"No._ No more waiting. I've waited long enough. Your mother can't make any deals for you this time. Next time I see you, little bird, you'll be walking into my cage. Au revoir." There was a click, and the line went dead.

"Hello?" Aria whispered. But there was no response. She held her phone to her chest, shaking. _He found me._ Of course, He'd found her. She'd fled New York, left behind everything she'd known to travel across the country, thinking she'd escaped. But no. He'd found her.

_Has He been following me this whole time?_ Or did He just happen to be in Santa Barbara? And how had He managed to get her number?

_"Next time I see you, little bird, you'll be walking into my cage."_

She should tell someone. Shawn, Gus, Henry, any of them. Shouldn't she? _He got Mom, and now He wants to finish the job._ But He hadn't just threatened Aria, He'd threatened everyone she cared about. And the results of their last encounter proved just how dedicated He really was to getting His way.

She stood up, still trembling, with her mind firmly made up. She knew what she had to do. Her hands shook as she dialed Shawn's number.

"Aria? You okay?"

"What? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Um, remember that girl I was telling you about that I met at school? Ashley? She's going away for the weekend for her birthday, to, uh, the beach upstate, and she invited a bunch of girls from our class to go with her, including me. Can I go? Please?"

"Wait, what? Why?"

"Come on, Shawn," she whined. "Pleeeease?"

"I…" He paused, and she heard him and Gus whisper-arguing vigorously with each other. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Fine." She realized how bratty that sounded, and tried again. "I mean, thank you. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I found those papers you wanted! They were behind the sofa, I left them on the table, under your laptop, okay? I'm at the school now, gotta go." After hanging up, she hesitated before making one more call. If He was really watching her, although she didn't quite understand how that was possible with the blinds closed over the office window, He'd know she'd obeyed His orders, but she just wanted to make sure.

"Back so soon, little bird?"

"I just...I made up an excuse. I'll be there tomorrow, I promise, okay? Just...please. Don't hurt them."

He hung up on her.

* * *

**Another cliffhanger! *le gasp* I know, I know, I'm a terrible person. On the bright side, I have the next couple of chapters already written, so the chaos that is my life will _not_ be keeping me from updating on time. Love you guys, and thank you for sticking with this story! :)**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	12. Little Bird With Broken Wings

**CHAPTER DIEZ IS HERE! YAY! As I said in the last chapter, the story's gonna get a little dark from here on out (dark=whumpy). I'll put specific trigger warnings in the author's notes for each chapter as needed, and every chapter with a trigger warning will be accompanied by a chapter summary at the bottom so that trigger-sensitive individuals can still enjoy the story and know what's going on. I don't want to make anybody uncomfortable. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up. **

**Anywayyyyy...this chapter is being posted earlier than usual for a couple of reasons, the biggest of which is that I have auditions on Monday for my school show choir (I was in it last year, but there are a lot of rumors floating around. Basically, there are a lot of freshmen trying out, especially boys. Usually the group consists of 7 sopranos (higher female part), 10 baritones (boys), and 7 altos (lower female part). Last year, my first year, because there weren't enough guys trying out who impressed the director, he changed it to 8 sopranos, 8 baritones, and 8 altos. No sopranos graduated, and the choir teacher/director told my choir class today that he was thinking about going back to 7-10-7. Which means that he'd have to cut a soprano, even if he doesn't add any new sopranos. **

**Guess who's a soprano... -_- **

**So it's really stressful, and I'm gonna be practicing my audition song all weekend, and hyperventilating a lot before the callback (and final) list gets posted...so, um, that's why it's early, and this AN is getting ridiculously long so I'm gonna end it here. Enjoy the chapter! :) )**

* * *

Chapter Ten: Little Bird With Broken Wings

"I'm still not sure this is a good idea. What did you say this girl's name was, again?"

Aria rolled her eyes, trying desperately to mask the fear she felt. "Shawn, trust me. This is completely safe." _Liar, liar, pants on fire_, her conscience chanted at her, sparking a pang of guilt. "Her name is Ashley Walker, and we're really good friends, and I can't just back out now! I'll be back Monday. She'll drop me off at school, and I'll be at the office at three o'clock, just like any other weekday. Promise. You won't even notice I'm gone."

She hugged him - _Please don't let this be the last time _- before hopping out, taking her overnight bag with her. "Bye!" She waved, waiting until she saw the truck, borrowed from Henry, disappear, to start walking in the opposite direction, towards Miller Road.

The street was mostly empty; lights in the houses were off, and the only cars she could see were parked in driveways, or hidden behind garage doors. Aria was willing to give herself up to save her "family" - the way they'd saved her, the way her mother had saved her - but part of her couldn't help but hope that someone would notice and rescue her. Something told her that wasn't likely, though.

A black van pulled up in front of her, sleek and shiny beneath the October moon. _This is it, _she thought. _Oh, God. _The window rolled down on the front passenger seat, but it was too dark for her to see inside. He spoke, His voice as horribly smooth and sickly sweet as always.

"Hello, little bird."

Aria thought she was going to throw up; to hear His voice on the phone was bad enough, but in person...and she had never seen His face. Memories flashed before her: Mom giving her the last piece of bread or chicken or whatever food they had, Mom teaching her to read and write out of library books, Mom taking her to free shows in the park and singing the songs with her afterwards, Mom reaching into a fountain at night and falling in, splashing to the surface with a smile on her face and a fistful of quarters.

Mom, after they both woke up in the dark after being kidnapped the first time with no idea what had happened, grim determination on her face as she planned their escape.

Mom, beaten and bloody, trying desperately not to let her pain show.

Mom, yelling at her to run.

His voice shattered the images. "I know you've followed my instructions. Good girl."

She finally found her voice. "Girl? I thought I was a bird."

He chuckled at that. "So you are, so you are. Climb into the back seat."

She obeyed, shutting the door behind her as quietly as possible, flinging her overnight bag in the seat next to her as they drove away.

* * *

The sun hadn't yet begun peeking over the horizon when Aria stumbled out of the black van on Miller Street, overnight bag slung over her shoulder. She stayed crouched on the sidewalk with her head between her knees, barely registering the noise of the van driving away.

_Do not throw up do not throw up Aria Starling-Spencer don't you DARE throw up. Deep breaths, deep breaths._ Slowly, she sat up, biting her lip to keep from moaning as her sore body protested the movement. She felt worse off than she'd ever been on the streets, and she probably looked it, too.

_Can I get up? _

Her head spun as she got to her feet, and the weight of the bag nearly stole her balance away, but she managed to steady herself enough to begin the trek to the Psych office. She had makeup, deodorant, and clean clothes in her bag from when she'd packed on Thursday to convince the others that she was going away for a weekend. She almost smiled as she remembered Shawn fussing over her, making sure she had everything, her phone, her charger, her toothbrush.

After an eternity of tripping over the sidewalk, she finally reached the Psych office, using the spare key she knew Shawn left under the mat to get in. It took all she had to keep from screaming once she turned the bathroom light on, partially from the blinding lights, partially because, once her eyes adjusted, she could see how truly horrible she looked.

Her face was mostly alright - _Thank goodness, that would have been hardest to cover up_ - but her neck and shoulders were covered in bruises, scratches, and other red marks. Her hair was a rat's nest - _No, a bird's nest, _she thought dryly. How fitting. He had been right, she was a bird - a bird that had been caught by a cat and toyed with, a battered little bird with broken wings who had lost the urge to sing. It would take all the time she had to fix herself up and walk to school. _Better get started, then._

As she used a washcloth to clean herself off - _will I ever really feel clean again? _- she discovered the full extent of the external damage, the bruises on her torso and arms and legs and rope burns on her wrists - _long sleeves and pants, definitely _- the growing pain in her ankle, which she now feared might be sprained - _suck it up, Aria, you've had worse._

Only, she wasn't so sure she'd ever had it worse than this. _Was this what Mom felt like,_ she wondered, _when she sacrificed herself to save me?_ Because, despite the pain, despite the anger and the shame and the hurt, she felt a strange sense of pride. She had done it. She had protected them. And for some reason, He hadn't killed her. Why, she didn't know, but she was grateful for this one small blessing. She was alive. And she was going to make sure that nobody found out what had happened, because then they would be in danger, too. And even if they caught Him, that would just open up a whole new can of worms, because then she would have to deal with the aftermath if they found out.

She wasn't sure if she could handle that.

* * *

**Reviews never fail to leave a smile on my face, so...you know the drill. ;) Also, if anyone has any tips on overcoming audition anxiety, feel free to either leave it in a review or PM me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for your support of this story! (I recently checked the stats, and was shocked to see you guys broke 1000 views. Thank you so, so, so much. I love all of you *heart*)**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	13. Tell Me How I'm Supposed To Breathe

**(If you don't want to read my super long disclaimer, feel free to skip to the bottom! Happy reading!)**

**DoeEyedDarling (DED): Breaking news! Lassie makes a return this chapter! ****Welcome back, Detective Lassiter! Any comments?**

**Lassie: No comment.**

**DED: Oh. Well, then. I see how it is. _*insulted author noises*_**

**Lassie: Although, I have noticed you've neglected to add disclaimers to many of your chapters. Care to comment on that?  
**

**DED: Aw, Lassie -**

**Lassie: _Detective_ Lassiter -**

**DED: Whatever, why don't you say the disclaimer for me? Pretty please?**

**Lassie: No.**

**DED: ...I have Staaaarbuuuucks...**

**Lassie: *_tries to look away, but knows resistance is futile*_ Fine! _*turns to readers* _****DoeEyedDarlingownsnothinginthisstorybutherplotandheroriginalcharacters._ *turns back to face DED*_ Now hand over the caffeinated beverage and no one gets hurt. _*grabs Mocha Cookie Crumble out of DED's hand*_**

**DED: _*blinks* _Okaaay...So, that disclaimer applies to all past and future chapters, as well! :D Love y'all! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Tell Me How I'm Supposed To Breathe (With No Air)

"Shawn!" Aria ran to hug him, fighting the urge to break down, sobbing, and spill everything. _Hang in there,_ she told herself, grimacing slightly at the pressure the embrace put on the bruises. "I missed you. I mean, I had fun, but I still missed you." She smiled, reaching up to smooth the thick scarf covering the red-and-purple mess that was her neck. Shawn ruffled her hair affectionately

"And we missed you, of course," Gus said, pulling a rectangular shaped, wrapped gift out from behind his back.

She oohed and aahed, as she knew they'd expect her to, and tore off the wrapping with exaggerated enthusiasm. Every movement took ten times the usual effort-every smile, every time she widened her eyes and clapped her hands together in childish delight, every bout of nausea she had to suppress. Deep breaths. "_Catching Fire_!" she exclaimed.

"I - uh, we, were in the bookstore and saw it over the weekend," Gus responded, smiling. "It just came out." Aria stifled a laugh - as if Shawn would ever willingly enter a bookstore in his free time - but she played along.

"Cool! I can't wait to read it!" She paused, fidgeting with the edge of the wrapping paper and avoiding their gazes for a moment. "So, any new cases?"

"No, but we're actually heading down to the station now to check. Have you finished your homework yet?" Gus answered.

She hadn't, but Aria simply smiled and nodded in response. Just like the good little girl she was.

* * *

"McNabb! Hi! Juliet, long time no see! Hey, Detective Lassiter, what's up?" Aria beamed at everyone she passed as she walked into the station, stopping at Lassie's desk, because if anyone had information about the case, it would be him.

Immediately, Lassiter sensed - not psychically, just through regular human observation - that something was wrong. The normally bouncy, bubbly teen seemed robotically peppy today, the smile forced. And "Detective Lassiter?" _Way too respectful for the Spencers._ "What do you want, Starling?"

Aria already had a planned response."Oh, well, I'm doing this current events research project for school, and I wanted to talk to you about that guy from the news from a few months ago, the mother-daughter killer guy. Any new developments?"

"No. He's been inactive for the past two months, but we're prepared to find any patterns in the event of new victims."

She nodded, playing the part of the studious young sophomore as she took notes on the little notepad she'd brought with her in her purse.

"Carlton!" They both looked up to see Juliet, looking troubled. "There's been another attack."

"Dammit," Aria heard him mutter under his breath. "Spencer! Guster! Let's go!" She followed Shawn and Gus to the Blueberry, her stomach sinking to her feet as she realized what had happened. _I thought - I thought it was over...__  
_

* * *

The scene of the crime was the same as all the others: single mother and daughter, throats slit, knives missing. Somehow, being there made the pain impossible to ignore: the soreness, the nausea, the lightheadedness.

_Deep. Breaths._

But that just made the pain worse. _Okay, shallow breaths?_ Didn't help. The harder she fought to calm down, the closer she came to hyperventilating. And then she felt it - that stabbing sensation, right below her ribs, and her foot felt like it was about to collapse, and she _couldn't breathe couldn't breathe couldn't. Breathe._ The room swirled around her as she tried to walk out normally, to get outside, away from the dead bodies and from Shawn's observant eyes, but - _oh, crap._ Lassie was outside, and he was almost as bad. Not quite as bad as Shawn, but bad enough.

_Can't. Breathe._

There was another stab of pain in her leg, and she panicked even more as Lassie walked over, a look of concern on his face. "Hey, Starling," he said gently. "You alright?"

She tried to nod, to say, "yes," or, "of course," or even "get the hell away from me," anything to make him leave her alone. But the words wouldn't come out. What she instead said was, "I...you're not supposed to care." Which was true. Lassie was never the sentimental or coddling type, and he _wasn't_ supposed to care.

But she didn't get to see his response, because as she made one last effort to take a deep breath, there was a sensation like knives being twisted in her gut, and she blacked out.

* * *

Lassiter watched in confusion, then horror, as the sweating, panting, wincing girl's face contorted one last time in pain before her eyes rolled back and she crumpled to the ground. He just managed to grab her by the shoulders, and as the scarf came loose, he caught a glimpse of mottled purple skin underneath. _What the hell?_

He snapped back to reality. "I need an ambulance, stat!" he yelled, and the words seemed to spark a tornado of chaos. Shawn and Gus and Juliet came out to see what the fuss was about, and then Shawn was pulling out his phone to call Henry, and before they knew it, the senior Spencer had pulled up just behind the ambulance in his old brown truck. And then the paramedics rushed out, grabbing her from Lassie and rushing her into the ambulance, rushing her to the hospital.

* * *

When Aria woke up - somewhat - she was in...an ambulance? _Oh, God,_ she realized. _Not. Good._ They'd figure out everything that happened, and - and -

She shrieked, and a paramedic rushed over. Aria struggled to speak through the oxygen mask. "I need you to tell the doctor at the hospital to keep my condition confidential."

A crease appeared between the paramedic's eyebrows as he frowned in confusion. "You don't want your medical condition shared with friends or family?"

"No, I don't" she said weakly, or at least she thought she said, because the world was still fuzzy around the edges and rapidly fading to black. "Don...dontellem," she slurred, succumbing once again to the seductive call of unconsciousness.

* * *

**So, I got the results of my audition back. The good news: I, as well as most of my friends, made it!**

**The bad news: two of my friends got cut from the group. **

**My best guy friend - we've been in every show, every ensemble together since we started high school, everything - didn't get in, and it's...devastating, to say the least. One of the girls who made the group instead is not only not as talented as the girl who got cut, she's also incredibly stuck up (she got into one show out of five shows my school drama program put on last year, and rubbed it in everyone's face...my guy friend who got cut from the group was not only in four of the five shows, and not only had a lead in the spring musical as a freshman, which is very rare, but he was incredibly humble about it, and is a fantastic person and an incredibly supportive friend). We were fairly good friends until I saw how full of herself she was. I still work with her, and I don't tell her what I really think - I'd feel awful telling someone that - but I can't help but be a little upset that she made it in.**

**So, basically, the choir director took out people who had put their life and soul into the group - talented, dedicated people - and replaced them with people who are mediocre at best. ****Some of the new people who got in truly did deserve it, as they are very talented and humble and basically great people to work with, and I'm glad they made the group.**

**But. Still.**

**So...this chapter is being posted today to celebrate, but also to mourn, in a way.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who read this chapter/the story in general, I love knowing that there are people enjoying this story - it motivates me to try and improve my writing as I go along. Special thanks to TheShulesLovinPsycho and Broadwaygirl21 for your words of support regarding not only the story, but the auditions, as well: I have no words to express how much that truly meant to me. :)**

**I'll be away this weekend from Saturday to Monday, so I'll try to have another chapter posted this Friday (or Saturday morning). Thank you all again, I wouldn't be able to write this story without you. *heart***

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	14. Listen As The Whispers Scream

**Hey guys! ****So, this chapter contains some sensitive material. I've provided a summary of the major plot points in the author's note at the bottom of the page, so if you don't think you'll be comfortable reading the chapter, you won't be confused as to what's going on, never fear. Again, there is NO explicit (M rated) content in this chapter (or in any of my writing, really), but there are mentions of sexual assault, so if you aren't okay with reading it, skip to the handy-dandy family-friendly chapter synopsis at the bottom (to be honest, it was kind of hard for me to write - I've never really written about anything like that before, so...).**

**Also, thanks to TheShulesLovinPsycho! I'm glad you liked the disclaimer! Yeah, I still feel awful about my friend not making it. He's taking it pretty well, though, and he's determined to try again next year, so that's good. And it's definitely not weird that you knew exactly what insulted author noises I was making - great minds think alike, right? ;)**

**Happy reading, guys!**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Listen As The Whispers Scream, "Hey, What's Wrong With Her?"

When Aria came to again, it took her a few minutes to realize she was in a hospital. She nearly had another panic attack, before she remembered her conversation with the paramedic, and let out an enormous breath of relief. She noted that, though she still felt sore, she could now breathe properly; her pleasure was significantly diminished when she realized that the thin hospital gown displayed many of the embarrassing bruises on her neck and arms. The door opened, and her eyes widened, expecting Henry, or Shawn and Gus, or Juliet and Lassiter...but instead in came a doctor. A male doctor, she noticed with distaste. They couldn't have given her a female doctor?_ Really?_

"Morning, Miss Spencer, my name is Dr. Albert Langdon." She nodded politely, wondering how long she'd been out, if it was morning, and he took that as a cue to continue. "One of the paramedics told me of your request to keep your condition confidential-"

"That hasn't changed."

He raised an eyebrow. "I see. As you most likely have noticed, most of your body is covered in bruises. One of your ribs was fractured, as was your left ankle; both clean breaks, though. You're a very lucky girl."

"Really? 'Cause I don't really feel that way."

He ignored the sarcasm. "Lucky to be alive, and lucky you didn't need surgery. Now, if you wouldn't mind describing the circumstances leading to these injuries..."

"I don't know," she lied.

"What?"

"I was at a friend's beach house over the weekend. I come home from school, go to a crime scene with my older cousin - he's a police consultant - and next thing I know, I'm hyperventilating and passed out and I wake up here."

He seemed unimpressed. "Right. Has your guardian ever abused you?"

"Excuse me?" she asked, shocked. "Never. I swear it on my life. Shawn Spencer is a good man. He can be immature, but never violent."

"All right," the doctor said, though he still didn't appear to be convinced. "One more thing. I'd like to perform a rape kit."

"No." She didn't even think before rejecting the request. "I think I would have noticed if someone had...attacked me like that."

Langdon's expression grew softer, gentler. "Aria, I understand this must be uncomfortable for you to discuss. However, someone put you in this condition, and if they assaulted you, any evidence collected could help apprehend the perpetrator."

"No," she repeated. "I wasn't...you know. I wasn't raped."

He sighed. "Very well. Would you be all right if I allowed your friends and family to visit?"

"Okay. But, um, could you get me a scarf? Or a blanket, please? It's just, the bruises..." she trailed off.

Langdon nodded. "Of course."

He returned with a turtleneck sweater, of all things, and let her put it on and adjust it before going to retrieve the others. _All right, here we go._

"Hey guys!" she chirped as they walked in, all six of them. "How are you?"

Lassiter, Jules, Gus, and Henry exchanged incredulous glances, while Shawn was, of course, the first to speak. "How about worried sick? Especially since you told the doctors to keep your medical info from family and friends. What the hell happened?"

She shrugged. _Ow. Note to self: shrugging hurts. _"See, that's the weird thing, I don't really know. I was at the crime scene and I started feeling dizzy, and I guess I must have fainted. Dehydration, maybe?"

"Right," Lassie cut in, in a tone that clearly said he didn't believe her. He leaned in to Shawn, and Aria could hear him murmur, "I need to take her statement. Maybe she'll be more cooperative if it's one on one." _Yeah, good luck with that._

Shawn looked as though he was about to protest, but, to Aria's surprise, he was silent for once. Nodding, he motioned to Gus and Juliet, and the two left the room.

_No! Nonononono. _Lassie was way too observant for Aria to be able to lie to him comfortably to at this point. Especially if there was nobody else to interrupt the conversation. He came forward and sat down on the edge of the bed. "So," he said gently - _Ah! What is with him today? Or yesterday going into today? Lassiter is not the caring type! _- "What really happened?"

She shrugged again, barely concealing a grimace at the pain. "I told you, I don't know."

"Aria, in order for us to figure out what's wrong, especially without any knowledge about your medical condition, you need to tell us who attacked you." _And why is he using my first name?_ She'd snuck up with Shawn and Gus to watch interrogations before, and she'd observed that a common technique was making the suspect emotionally vulnerable. _This isn't fair. I'm a victim, not a criminal!_ But she couldn't exactly tell him that…

"I can order the doctor to tell us what happened, physically," Lassiter said, interrupting her train of thought.

"No, you can't." _Can he?_

"I can try." He opened the door and motioned for Langdon, who was standing outside, to come in. Flashing his badge, he asked, "I need you to give us access to Miss Spencer's medical records from the time she entered the hospital."

"She would need to give consent in order for me to do that, officer."

"It's detective," he snapped. "This is an official investigation, and the patient in question is a minor. Is there nothing you can do?"

"Sorry, _detective,_ but we still need consent."

"Have you run a rape kit?" Aria felt her blood freeze - no, turn to stone. She was a statue, stiff, immobile, unfeeling - when she heard Lassie ask that.

"I requested, but she refused, and, again, we need her consent."

"I wasn't...I'm fine," she insisted, before Lassie could attempt to order her to give consent. "Doctor Langdon, would you mind giving us some privacy for a moment?" The doctor graciously left the room, closing the door on the way out. She turned to Lassiter. "Lassie, I'm telling you, I'm fine. I just fainted, probably from lack of fluids or whatever. Nobody atta-"

"I saw the bruises."

"What?" _He couldn't have...I was so careful to cover them up…_

"Aria, by refusing to talk, you're hindering police investigation."

"There shouldn't be an investigation, because there's nothing to investigate!" she said, exasperated. A thought occurred to her. "Where's my bag? My purse. I had it at the house." Lassiter huffed at her lack of cooperation, but passed her the bag from the chair next to the hospital bed. "Thank you." She pulled out her phone, a wave of fear crashing down on her when she saw that He had texted her.

_Tell them what happened, and the psychic's the first to go. _It was accompanied by a picture of her being carried into the ambulance.

Lassiter, noticing her expression, leaned over to look at her phone screen. She immediately pressed the lock button and shoved the device back into her purse. "I'm _fine._ When will I be cleared to leave the hospital? And tell Shawn and the rest of them that I just need to be alone for a while. Please." He must have seen the futility in trying to get her to cooperate at this point, because he simply heaved a sigh of disappointment and left the room.

Once she was alone, she grabbed her phone and sent back a responding text.

_Ok._

And then she fell back asleep, after yanking off the itchy green sweater and flinging it haphazardly on the chair next to her.

* * *

In all of his thirty three years, Shawn Spencer had never been especially mature. The idea of raising children was...intimidating, and required much more effort and responsibility than he was keen on having. Over time, he had become convinced that he was born without paternal instinct...until the moment he snuck in to Aria's hospital room and saw the girl unconscious.

_She looks so...vulnerable._ And she did, asleep, so little and helpless and quiet next to the machines. And Aria, like Shawn, was nearly never quiet. She was supposed to be singing at the top of her lungs as she got ready in the morning, or complaining about school, or dancing around the apartment in her pajamas before bed, not still and silent and covered in bruises. He felt a surge of rage, seeing the purple marks - she looked as though she'd had a nasty encounter with a baseball bat. _Someone did that to her._

With a jolt of surprise, Shawn felt a new emotion wash over him, one he just couldn't shake. A warm, fuzzy feeling that melted into the worry, all directed at the fifteen-year-old lying on the hospital bed. _Love? Is this what it's like to be a parent?_ He'd have to ask his father later. Or maybe Gus. Gus was always better at understanding the touchy-feely stuff than any of the Spencers. Shawn almost smirked as he thought of his best friend's "sympathetic crying." Almost; he couldn't genuinely smile when his "daughter" was beaten up and unconscious.

_How did it ever come to this?_ If someone'd told him a few months ago that he'd soon be the legal guardian of a teenage girl, he would have responded with laughter and a few well-chosen snarky comments. And yet, here they were._ If she hadn't turned up that morning...if we had just turned her in...if I'd been more careful and realized something was up Friday._

And now a new feeling joined the rapidly expanding cocktail of emotions: guilt. Because Shawn was supposed to be in charge of her well-being, and he'd let her get hurt, and he didn't know how or who or where or why it happened.

Shawn had never wanted so much to be a real psychic as he did in that moment.

* * *

**Aw, Shawn. *sniff sniff* **

**As promised, here is the chapter summary!**

**Aria has suffered a broken rib, which punctured her lung, explaining the pain she felt back at the crime scene. She refuses to tell anyone what happened, even the doctor, choosing to keep her medical status confidential. Lassie tries to take her statement, but she sticks to her story about going to a friend's beach house for the weekend, claiming she has no idea where the bruises came from. She then goes to sleep. Shawn comes into the hospital room while she's sleeping and begins to feel parental, his paternal instinct kicking in.**

**For those of you who were able to read the full chapter, hope you enjoyed it! For those of you who couldn't, I totally understand, and I swear that it will in no way hinder your understanding of future chapters. **

**Reviews are like chocolate, for me (this is coming from a self-proclaimed chocoholic), so, if you have a moment to spare, feel free to jot down a comment or two in the little box below! Thank you! :)**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**

**(On a side note, the chapter title comes from a song called "You Don't Know" from Bare: The Musical, with Barrett Wilbert Weed and Elizabeth Judd. I highly recommend both the song and the musical itself to any and everyone, they are both truly beautiful - you can find both on YouTube. There is also a "pop opera" version of Bare, which I haven't seen, but I've heard great things about as well. Random, I know, but I can never pass up and opportunity to share my favorite music with the world :) )**


	15. Out of Control

**HIIII GUYS! A million thanks to the amazing Broadwaygirl21 for reviewing. :) So, Aria's being pretty stubborn, yeah? If only she wasn't so afraid of Him, maybe then Lassie would be able to get something out of her...paternal!Shawn was probably my favorite part to write. :) Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Out of Control

Aria woke up with a cry, pain shooting through her ribs as she heaved breaths in and out, in and out. She gasped again when she saw Shawn sitting in the chair, and grabbed frantically at the blanket, trying to cover the worst of the bruises, even though she knew it was too late. He had already seen. Worst of all was the look in his eyes, the pity that was a thousand times more terrible than any physical pain she had been through in the last seventy two hours. She could stand anything, anything but that.

Because he _knew._

"Please leave," she said.

"No."

"Shawn, I'm fine, now please leave bef-"

He stood up suddenly, overturning the chair in the process. "No, you're not _fine_." He inhaled and exhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm your legal _guardian,_ and this is me ordering you to tell us what happened."

"Since when have you ever cared about being my _dad_?"

"Just answer the question! Aria, please."

"No," she spit out. "There's nothing to tell. Nothing happened. Ask the _spirits_ and I'm sure they'll tell you as much." With horror, she felt her throat close up, and her eyes began to burn with the beginnings of tears. "I can't...I'm fine, I just need to be alone. I'm just tired, I - just go."

She closed her eyes firmly and sank back down into the pillow. But instead of him complying, she heard him pick up the chair and sit right back where he was before. After counting one hundred and five of his breaths, between the steady rhythm, and the comfort she felt at his presence, she drifted back to sleep. He followed soon after, his head dropping to rest on his shoulder as he sat in the hard, plastic chair.

Hours later, Shawn blinked a few times, trying to shake the sleep from his eyes, and then turned to face Aria. And then blinked again. And then ran out of the room to find a doctor, pulling out his phone to call Gus and his dad and Jules and Lassie.

Because the hospital bed was empty.

* * *

When she woke up again chained to the bed in the nearly lightless room, Aria was sure she was dreaming. Until she realized that she was still in her hospital gown and covered in bruises.

It took a few minutes for the reality of what had happened to sink in.

She screamed - not because she thought anyone would hear her, but because this couldn't be real. She couldn't go through this all over again.

"For a little bird, you sure have one hell of a voice."

She shut up immediately, turning to see Him watching her nonchalantly from the doorway.

"Why am I here, how…"

"Please, Aria, give me some credit. Those idiots in the hospital didn't even notice me. Anyways, not important."

"Where's Shawn?" she said, the fear in her voice causing it to shake. "You said...in your text, but I swear I didn't tell them anything, I didn't say anything."

"I know. But it was only a matter of time before they figured out something was up. You tried so hard, didn't you, little bird? To stay strong and act like nothing was the matter, but in the end you collapsed. Your body gave up, and I knew that before long, your mind would, too, and I couldn't take that risk. Don't worry, though, you're family is safe. Worried out of their minds, perhaps, but I have you, so there's no need to hurt them. Unless, of course, they come after you. So here's the way it's going to be." He remained where he was - _Thank God for small blessings - _but held up a small, vaguely square-shaped object. A fuzzy glow emanated from one side of it, adding some light to the room.

Her phone. And it was unlocked. _How the hell..._

"You'll behave. You will not scream or try to attack me or escape. That means no biting, no kicking, and no back talk. If you're good, maybe I'll consider letting you off your leash once in a while. But," He continued, the familiar sadistic gleam appearing in His eyes, "you break any of these rules, and I'll call your little friends. I'll tell them where to find you. And then I'll kill them." He smiled.

"You wouldn't."

The corners of His mouth curled downwards. "Believe that if you want to, little bird. But don't say I never told you so." He swept out of the room, the lock clicking behind him. A few moments later, she heard another door open and shut, meaning He'd left the house.

_Out of every threat he has made so far, how many has he kept so far? None. True, that was because I did what he said. But I have no reason to trust this sicko._ She looked down at her wrists._ Handcuffs? Really? What, was Home Depot out of rope?_

Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. Bending her head down to her hands, she brushed her slim fingers against her scalp._ I know I was wearing some before I was admitted to the hospital..._ She pulled out the item she was looking for, and now it was Aria's turn to smile.

_If Hannibal Lecter can escape a high-security federal prison using a pen, then I can sure as hell escape from some psycho's basement using a bobby pin._

She was getting out.

* * *

"Shawn, it'll be all right." Gus watched his best friend pace back and forth, agitated, before Shawn finally collapsed into the chair next to him.

"No, Gus, we don't know that! Ok, my _daughter_ was kidnapped from a hospital, and she is out there right now with no way to protect herself, and we gave no idea how to get her back. Which means I've failed."

Gus looked surprised at the word "daughter," but he quickly got past it. "Hey. We'll find her, Shawn. I promise."

They both looked up as Lassiter and Juliet entered the hospital room, Henry following after. "Shawn, what happened?"

"She's gone, Jules. I was sitting next to her, we both dozed off, and when I woke up, she was gone. Somebody took her from right under my nose." Shawn pressed a hand against his mouth, then mumbled again, "she's gone."

"Shawn? Shawn, listen to me, we are going to get her back, ok?" She gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Have you gotten any visions, any psychic vibrations about where she might be?"

"Do you think I'd still be here if that was the case?" he snapped, immediately regretting it. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

"Look, as far as I know, nothing else was taken from the room. Her bag's right over there." He pointed.

"Did you go through it?" Lassiter asked. "Anything missing?"

"I didn't think to check." Before Shawn had a chance to move, Lassiter had grabbed the bag and flipped it over, dumping its contents onto the bed.

"Okay, we've got pencils, pens, notepad, makeup thingy, hairbrush, calculator, gum, wallet with some loose change and a twenty inside, headphones...That's it."

"Wait," Shawn stood up. "Her phone's not there. That's it."

"Can you track it?"

"No, I never got around to setting up the GPS device." He sat back down, defeated.

"I'm confused," Gus said. "Just her phone? Why nothing else? If there was money in there - "

At that moment, a loud buzz sounded. All eyes turned to Shawn as he pulled out his own phone, his throat constricting when he saw the caller ID.

_Aria._

* * *

**Dun dun DUNNNNNN.**

**Reviews always make me smile, and pulling up my email in the hallway between class periods (lucky me, I don't have room in my schedule for a lunch period) and seeing an alert for a new review never fails to make my day 10x better, so...yeah. :) Plus, I can never turn down an opportunity to get feedback on my writing so that I can improve. Seriously, constructive criticism is one of my favorite things ever. :) Love y'all! **

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	16. Let The Games Begin

**Okay, so there is some violence in this chapter. No blood, but there is violence. Again, I'll put a summary at the end, just in case. :)**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Let The Games Begin

_Flashback #3_

**_One Year Earlier_**

_It took a few days for Callie to come up with an idea of how to escape. Two days of torture. Twice, He took her out of the large room, leaving Aria alone for hours at a time. Twice she returned, bruised and bloody but still smiling - trying to smile, anyway. She had to be brave for her baby girl._

_"Okay, so reviewing the plan - " Callie stopped abruptly, tilting her head to listen, and her eyes widened. "He's coming. We don't have any more time - get behind the door, Aria."_

_The girl obeyed, and Callie followed her, pressing an ear to the door to listen carefully. Just as the door opened, Callie yelled, "Now!" Together, they jumped, throwing their weight against the door. Surprisingly, it worked - they heard an "Oof," accompanied by a thump._

_Callie grabbed her daughter by the hand, using the other hand to practically push her out the door, into the pitch black night - Where the hell are we? She look back at the building they'd just exited, hoping to find some indicator of where they were. She saw nothing, just a large, unmarked warehouse, but her mouth dropped open in shock._

_The floor was empty. There was no body, no unconscious kidnapper on the ground behind them._

_Feeling a pair of arms snake around her waist, Callie tensed for a moment before relaxing. "Aria, don't scare me like that."_

_But Aria's wrist was still in her mother's grip. Just as she took in the familiar whiff of jasmine, a forceful tug by the new pair of arms caused Callie to fall to the ground; she let go of Aria at the last second. The girl whirled around, horrified to see her mother and their captor wrestling on the ground like two shadows. Callie screamed at her, "Go!" When Aria didn't move, her mother yelled again, "Run! Ugh - Aria, go! Now! I'll come - argh - GO!"_

_So she ran._

_Her mother never caught up to her._

* * *

**Present Day**

_Okay, handcuffs off. Door can only be unlocked from the outside, no windows, lamp in the corner. Ugh, it's freezing in here...darn hospital gown is too thin._

_Wait._

It was warm outside last time she'd been outside, yet the room felt like an icebox. And, now that Aria was focused on her surroundings, she became aware of a soft hissing noise. _How did I not notice it before?_ Pulling slowly to make as little noise as possible, she moved the bed enough to reveal an air vent behind. Maybe she could..._no, it's too small._

Another noise make itself known: the front door opening and shutting.

_He's home._

She was running out of options and, more importantly, time. She spun around, scanning the room frantically, and her gaze fell on the floor lamp standing in the corner. A wave of deja vu crashed over her. _If I hide behind the door, if I can hurt Him enough to give me time to run..._It was crazy. The only reason it had worked for her the first time was because Mom had been there to detain him.

But it was her only shot.

After pulling out the plug, Aria grabbed the lamp and carried it over to the door. It wasn't too heavy for her to pick up. She just hoped it would be heavy enough to give her a fighting chance.

_Breathe breathe you can do this you can do this just please please breathe._

The click of the lock sparked a rush of adrenaline in her veins. As the door creaked open, she waited for a moment before bringing it down, jumping up to put all of her weight into it.

"What are you-AGH!"

Aria didn't wait to see how it had affected Him, just running out of the room and down a hallway to where she hoped the exit was. She could see heavy drapes closed over windows, keeping the rest of the house mostly dark. And there, in between the two biggest windows...she reached out, lunging for the door -

And crashed to the floor a few inches short, His hand tight around her ankle. She kicked desperately, twisting her body in an attempt to pull the both of them to the door, but in one swift move He let go of her ankle, walked over, leaned down to grab her around the waist, and carried her back to the room, throwing her inside and slamming the door behind. She just managed to break the fall with her hands, but not soon enough to keep her head from slamming against the floor.

* * *

The first thought that popped into Aria's mind when she came to was that she had spent much more of the last few days unconscious than she would have liked. The next was the realization that she had failed in her escape attempt, that now she was bound to the bed in what appeared to be a new, smaller room, with the ropes around both her wrists and feet, tied just loosely enough to allow her to sit up, and that her kidnapper was sitting in front of her in a chair, watching her intently. "Glad you could join me. Apparently I wasn't clear enough in my explanation last night. I really, really didn't want to drag them into this, little bird. Whatever happens to them is on you."

She watched with a sinking feeling as He pulled out her phone, unlocked it with ease, and casually scrolled through her contacts. "Let's see who we have here...aha." He tapped the screen twice, and walked over to Aria.

She could hear the phone ring - He must have set it to speaker. "Please, don't do this."

"I told you, dear, I didn't have to. You forced my hand." As He said this, He reached behind Him and grabbed a gun out of His back pocket. She tried not to freak out at the sight of it.

"No, I-"

"Hello?" She froze when she heard Shawn's voice coming out of the phone.

And, few seconds later, Gus's. "Shawn, nobody's answering."

"Hello, gentlemen," He said smoothly. "May I help you?"

Shawn whispered something to Gus, before asking, "Who is this?"

"Well, it doesn't really matter who I am. What's important is who I have with me." He held the phone up to her mouth. "Speak."

Aria shook her head.

"Speak, little bird."

She continued to shake her head in refusal.

"Speak!" He roared, bringing down the gun to hit her in the ribs, so hard Aria could have sworn she felt something break. Against her will, she cried out in pain. As the spots cleared from her vision and the ringing in her ears faded, she registered gasps and cries of outrage coming from the phone. Her head still spun as she tried to make sense of the situation. _I...kidnapped...family. Keep them safe._ Her tongue felt heavy when she attempted to tell them not to worry..._It'll be fine. I'm fine. Fine. Fine. Fine._

"Still tongue tied?" He whacked her again. And again. Aria lost track how many times He hit her before she stopped trying to hold back from screaming.

* * *

Shawn felt as though he was about to throw up, hearing Aria's screams mixing with the soft chuckles of her captor. Finally the cries dwindled to whimpers, and the strange man spoke again. "So. Any more questions?"

"You bastard."

"No? So I can hang up, then?"

"No!" all six of them yelled.

"Are you sure? You won't be able to talk to Aria. She's...unavailable, shall we say? Then again, I do pride myself on being an excellent conversationalist."

"What do you want?" The steeliness of Shawn's voice, as he turned off speaker phone and raised the phone to his ear, made it clear that this wasn't a question so much as a command.

"Isn't it obvious? If not, perhaps I should explain." He cleared his throat. "Ahem. Aria and I met about a year ago. Or, rather, I met her mother. Calliope. Lovely woman. You see, Mr. Spencer, I am a collector. When I see something I want, I will do anything within my power to obtain it. And Miss Callie really was an exquisite specimen-like her daughter, I suppose, except taller, skinnier, etcetera. It wouldn't have come to this if Aria had never been born; then I only would have had to deal with Callie. But since there were two of them, I couldn't just take the mother -I couldn't leave my masterpiece unfinished, you see. But Callie…" The man paused, clicking his tongue in fond remembrance. "She was quite the little spitfire, stereotypical overprotective mother hen. She helped her daughter escape. But I couldn't have that, so I..._took care_ of Callie and followed little bird out here. Pity you all had to be dragged into this - if Aria hadn't been so careless as to oversleep, she'd never have met you, and we wouldn't have this dilemma. I even gave her a chance for redemption: I would leave you alone if she just stayed put, but I guess she's her mother's daughter, because she tried to escape, and failed, and I had two options.

"One: I just off her now, save myself a lot of trouble."

Shawn thought for a moment that he'd stopped breathing.

"But I already went through so much trouble to get my hands on her, and she really is so much fun to play with. So I've decided to go with option two, because I'm in a generous mood: I'll give you twenty-four hours to find her, no more, no less. If she behaves well, maybe I'll send you a clue or two. If, by some miracle, you succeed, I'll return her to you...well, not completely unharmed, but in one piece. Do we have a deal?"

Shawn hesitated. Neither option was ideal, but if it was the only way to get Aria back, then there was really only one answer.

"Yes."

"Well, then," the voice purred. "Let the games begin."

_Click._

* * *

**One chapter synopsis, coming riiiiight up. :)**

**So, the first scene is a flashback: Aria and her mother plan to escape from the Mysterious Man's lair. He opens the door, they try to knock him out, and they run for it, but he catches up to them. Callie stays behind to fight him, and prompts Aria to run. Aria never sees her mother again. Flash forward to present day, where Aria, having picked the handcuff lock, is trying to come up with an escape plan of her own. Drawing inspiration from her and her mother's escape plan, she hits Mysterious Man with a lamp when he opens the door to enter the room, but not hard enough, because he catches her before she can reach the front door. When she regains consciousness, she is in a new, smaller room, and he uses her phone to call Shawn. He gives Shawn a deadline: find Aria within the next twenty-four hours, or she's a goner.**

**Massive Shawn-hugs to TheShulesLovinPsycho and Broadwaygirl21 for the reviews!**

**Broadwaygirl21: Aw, stahp. It's so nice to find someone who likes my story who shares so many of the same interests! And AH YES I do the dance to Candy Store on a daily basis. Some people say obsessed, I say dedicated. ;) And I KNOW I KNOW I'M AN EVIL AUTHOR. Even more so for this chapter's cliffie. But don't worry, I promise the suspense I'm putting you through now will pay off in the long run. **

**TheShulesLovinPsycho: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter. ;)**

**So, that's all for now, folks! See you next time! ;)**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**


	17. One Second and a Million Miles

**Thank you to TheShulesLovinPsycho and Broadwaygirl21 for the reviews! *hearts***

**TSLP: Mwahahaha :) Trust me, you're not the only one who wants to beat up Mystery Killer Man. And of course you can get a James-hug instead of a Shawn-hug. :)**

**Broadwaygirl21: There's never a bad time to listen to Heathers, amiright? ;) And don't worry, Shawn's just as eager to find her as you are.****  
**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: One Second and a Million Miles

"He hung up," Shawn told the others, feeling hollow inside. "A game...we have to find her."

"We'll find her, Shawn." Gus placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"How? The call wasn't long enough to trace, and we have no idea of - "

"Well, we know her captor is a man. Sounds between thirty and forty. It's not much," Lassiter said, nodding, "but it's a start."

Shawn tried to be optimistic, but as of that moment their prospects looked so bleak...He collapsed back into the chair and leaned his forehead on his hand, closing his eyes. Henry noticed. "Shawn, can I talk to you outside?"

They closed the door on their way out. "Look," he said, "Shawn. Look at me." Shawn looked up, reluctantly making eye contact with his father. "Did you hear anything in the background of that phone call?"

"No. I mean, maybe, I don't...I don't remember. I don't know."

His dad shook him gently. "Yes, you do, Shawn. You can do this.

"No, there was nothing. I'm sure of it." Shawn's eyes widened. "_Nothing_. Of course! Dad, there was no echo, no cars or rain or anything. So, uh, the room she's in is soundproofed somehow. And, and he wouldn't have had enough time to get her out of the city. I think." He looked up at Henry. "I hope."

* * *

Months of observing Shawn's sarcasm and snarkiness had begun to rub off on Aria - and not necessarily for the better.

"Look, you really need to work on the whole knocking-me-out-every-two-seconds thing," she said weakly. "I mean, how am I useful unconscious? I'm not surprised if I die of an aneurism before they find us."

"Shut up."

"Wait, wait, wait. First you beat me up because I wouldn't speak, and now you want me to be quiet? How is that fair? On any level?"

"Be quiet."

"Why? I mean, I made enough noise before and nobody heard. I think. You have to have soundproofed the place or something. You know, I think I at least deserve to know where we are. If I'm nev - "

"I said shut UP!" He yelled. Aria braced herself for another swing of the gun, but instead she heard a slight clicking noise. She looked up and sucked in a deep breath.

The gun was aimed at her head, His finger poised on the trigger.

"I'm getting tired of your yapping, little bird. So I would advise you to avoid irritating any further, or else..." He shifted the pistol to point to her knee. "...this could get a whole lot messier than it already is."

Aria paused before nodding, her mouth clamped shut.

"Good." He lowered the gun.

She let out a sigh of relief. _Too close._ "I do have a serious question, though." When he didn't threaten her, she continued, "Why me?"

He snorted, glancing at her with a look of disbelief. "I couldn't very well let the job go unfinished, could I? I got your mother, I had to complete the set."

She stared. "That's it?"

He jerked his head affirmatively.

"But..." _So He has no real motive for ruining lives? None at all? _

He whirled around. "But what?"

She swallowed nervously. "Nothing." _Shawn, please get here soon..._

* * *

**ARIA HAS 24 HOURS LEFT TO LIVE**

Gus sat down next to Shawn in the hospital room, holding out a packet of Mini Oreos. "I got these from the vending machine for you."

"Thanks, buddy." Shawn rubbed his head.

Gus paused, sniffing the air, then Shawn. "Do you have flowers on you?"

"What? No, why?"

"Hm." Gus blinked. "Jasmine."

Shawn froze, squeezing his eyes shut as he recalled their conversation in the pizza parlor from months ago.

_"...when I looked past her all I could see was blood on the walls, and it made me rem-" Aria stopped short, letting out a deep breath. "Really scared. It made me really scared."_

_"...made me rem-"_

_Remember?_

Gus leaned in closer, a concerned look on his face. "Uh, Shawn? Are you okay?"

"It was just her and her mom in the city. Single mother and daughter...Gus, he only started killing when she got here and stopped when she settled down." He watched as Gus put the pieces together.

"You mean - "

Shawn nodded. "It's the same guy. Gus, you said you smelled jasmine, was it, uh, fake smelling, like cologne, or - "

Gus shook his head, seeing where Shawn was going. "No, it was jasmine jasmine, like the actual flower."

"Okay. Okay, flower shops. How many flower shops could there be in Santa Barbara, right?"

* * *

**ARIA HAS 21 HOURS LEFT TO LIVE**

"Since when did Santa Barbara have this many flower shops? What city needs over thirty flower shops?" Shawn kicked the leg of a nearby bench before sitting down, head in his hands again. After Shawn told them about their realization that Aria's kidnapper and the mother-daughter killer were one and the same, Jules, Lassie, and Henry had gone back to the station, while Shawn and Gus set out in search of flower shops across the city. It wasn't as easy as they'd hoped.

"Shawn," Gus began, but he trailed off. "Look, there has to be some way to narrow it down."

"Yeah? Like how?"

"Uh...well, maybe not all of them carry jasmine plants. None of the ones so far have; we can cross off those ones. There has to be at least one that does, and then -"

"And then what, Gus? What if they do? Or what if the ones that do don't have any record of who bought what? What if - "

"Shawn." Gus wasn't used to seeing Shawn this upset, not since Yang had kidnapped Mrs. Spencer. He reflected back on that night.

_"She was there. Gus, she was there, the whole time..."_

_"You got her, Shawn. End of story."_

Except it wasn't the end, Gus realized now. There would always be another Yang, another psychopath, someone set on screwing up their lives. _I guess that's what we signed up for, though. _They'd just have to deal with it, one crazy at a time. _  
_

"...go."

Gus was shaken from his thoughts. "What?"

"Let's go."

"Okay, okay." _At least he's calmed down. _As the Blueberry pulled out of the parking lot, Gus couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they were too late, if Aria was..._No. Nope. Not going there._

* * *

**ARIA HAS 19 HOURS LEFT TO LIVE**

"You have anything?" Juliet called over the noise of the station.

Lassiter shook his head. "What the hell are we supposed to be looking for, anyway"

"I don't know. I don't know."

He didn't answer, turning back to look at the blank computer screen. The truth was, he didn't know either. Smart, logical, stubborn Carlton Lassiter, proud head detective of the SBPD, was out of answers. It wasn't a feeling he was accustomed to. Even when Spencer swooped in with all that psychic mumbo jumbo, and eventually dragged Guster along with him, Lassiter hadn't magically lost his crime-solving skills. He was still a damn good detective. He knew it, the rest of the department knew it, and he wasn't about to let a moron like Spencer change that.

Over the years, he had moved from barely tolerating the "psychic" to admiring him, as much as it pained Carlton to admit it. It was easier to work with the defective detective duo than to fight nail and tooth against them, and now they were...a family, of sorts, him and them and O'Hara. A crazy, chaotic, extremely dysfunctional family, perhaps, but he cared about them, to a degree.

At the very least, he was no longer gripped by a sudden urge to discharge his weapon every time he saw them.

And then there was Starling. _If that's even her real name. _He'd been suspicious of her from the first, with her big eyes and beaming smile and offers of coffee. It seemed manufactured, almost, until he'd realized that was just the way she was. It was...terrifying, to say the least. _How the hell can anyone be _that_ peppy all the time?_

Then there was the day she went to the hospital. If it hadn't been evident before, her behavior that day made it clear that she was hiding something, but did Spencer and Guster know what that something was? He didn't bother wondering if O'Hara was in on it; after all, she was his partner. She would never lie to him.

But beyond Starling's guilt, that day in the hospital showed how scared she was. He could empathize with that; after growing up in an abusive household, Carlton knew how damaging fear was to a child. And despite what she might believe - _Teenagers these days. They think they're so mature - _Aria _was_ still a child. She was a girl, a normal fifteen year old girl, and she was afraid.

_Of what? Or who?_ _  
_

They'd never find out if they let her die.

* * *

**ARIA HAS 14 HOURS LEFT TO LIVE**

They'd checked every flower shop in the city, and several outside the city limits, with no luck - five were closed, most of the remaining ones didn't sell jasmine, and the staff of the few stores that did were weren't exactly helpful.

"You don't have any records, any security cameras, anything?"

The cashier raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Dude. You really think, like, anyone's, like, gonna rob this place?" He made a vague gesture with his arms. Shawn had to admit, the kid had a point - the place was small, dingy, and most of the plants were dying or dead.

Gus, recognizing that Shawn was about to lose his temper, jumped in. "Right. Thank you for your time." He grabbed his friend's arm and practically dragged him out into the cool night.

He wasn't used to seeing Shawn this upset, not since Yang had kidnapped Mrs. Spencer. He reflected back on that night.

_"She was there. Gus, she was there, the whole time..."_

_"You got her, Shawn. End of story."_

Except it wasn't the end, Gus realized now. There would always be another Yang, another psychopath, someone set on screwing up their lives._ I guess that's what we signed up for, though._ They'd just have to deal with it, one crazy at a time.

Gus couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they were too late, if Aria was..._No. Nope. Not going there. _He refocused on reality.

"That was the last one, Gus," Shawn said, his voice breaking on the word "last." He kept his gaze on the ground.

"I know, Shawn." He reached over and squeezed his arm in a show of support. It wasn't enough, he knew.

But it was all he had to offer.

* * *

They drove in silence. The lights on either side of the highway looked like stars to Shawn, through his heavy-lidded eyes, and for each one they passed, he made a wish.

_Please let her be alive._

_Please let her be alive._

_Please let her be alive._

After a while he drifted off into a state of semi-consciousness, part of his brain still repeating the one phrase over and over again, the other seeking relief in the form of a dream. It was the same as always; he ended up at the restaurant with Jules, only this time it continued without Yang-Abigail showing up. It was perfect, pure and elegant in it's simplicity, because there was no SBPD, no Psych, no Yang, no Abigail, just Shawn and Jules, talking over crab cakes and pineapple smoothies.

It was beautiful.

If only real life were that easy.

* * *

**So, I've got to go do homework and try (and most likely fail) to be not-sick because being sick is no fun, but I'll see you guys next week! If you have a few moments, please review! (wink wink nudge nudge...yeah, I was never really one for subtle hints ;) )**

**xoxo,**

**DoeEyedDarling**

**P.S.: Again, the title of this chapter was taken from a song: One Second and a Million Miles, from The Bridges of Madison County. It won the Tony awards for Best Original Score and Orchestrations, plus a bunch of other awards for it's music, and it totally deserved all of them, because the music is gorgeous. So. Yeah. :)**


	18. Closed Doors and Dead Ends

Chapter Sixteen: Closed Doors and Dead Ends

**ARIA HAS 13 HOURS LEFT TO LIVE**

Shawn was awakened by a voice, a low, warm, smooth voice that was accompanied by the warm, familiar scent of..._Is that pizza?_He opened his eyes, only to be blinded by a bright white light, against which he could just barely make out a silhouette - the owner of the voice.

"Shawn," the voice said gently. "Shaaaaawn."

Shawn blinked again, confused. "Is this heaven?" he asked dazedly, a goofy grin on his face as he inhaled the delicious, cheesy scent.

A completely-conscious Gus clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Shawn!"

"Oh." The bright light and pizza-y aroma vanished as soon as he recognized the voice. He shook his head a few times, trying to rid himself of the dizziness. "Dude, did I - " He paused to yawn. "Did I fall asleep? What did I miss?"

"Nothing. The flower shop lead was a bust, so we came back. We're pulled over by the Psych office now. Where to next?"

Shawn had been checking his watch like crazy all day and night - now it was around midnight, and he was exhausted. Gus was even more visibly tired, not having had the luxury of sleeping on the way back to Santa Barbara, and Shawn briefly considered calling it a night so that they could both grab some sleep.

But that called for time. And if there was one thing they were definitely short on, it was time.

"Um...can we eat while we think about our next move?"

* * *

**ARIA HAS 12 HOURS TO LIVE**

The pizza had just arrived at the Psych office when they got the call. Shawn didn't even check the caller ID before picking up, putting the call on speaker phone. "Hello?"

"Your time's half gone," the voice whispered.

"I want a clue."

"That wasn't part of our agreement, Shawn."

"Yeah, well, it is now. Like you said, I don't have time to argue, okay? Just one clue."

The man chuckled. "My, my, my, you are persistent, Mr. Spencer. I must say, I really am impressed. Your flower shop theory? Brilliant. Too bad it led to nowhere...all that time wasted." He tsked. "Such a shame."

Shawn and Gus stared at each other. Gus was the first to speak. "How did you - "

"I'm every bit as persistent as you are, Mr. Guster. After all, I hardly would have followed little bird across the country if I wasn't dedicated to my work."

"A clue," Shawn interrupted.

"Oh, Shawn, you do make me laugh." He sighed. "Well, I must go attend to my guest - I'm afraid she might have gone and concussed herself, and it wouldn't do to just let her die. What would be the fun in that. I hope you enjoy the pizza. My favorite part has always been the crust, personally."

"You - " But he'd already hung up. Shawn's eyes lit up suddenly. "The pizza crust!"

They destroyed the pizza, ripping open the crust of each slice.

"Here!" Gus waved the little piece of paper triumphantly. They bent their heads over it, reading silently.

_To make it in any industry,_

_You have to make the grade._

_Dear little bird, she longs to sing_

_On a New York, Broadway stage_

_But the pay is often better_

_In the town where movies are made_

"What kind of a rhyme is that? Grade, stage, made?"

"I think...Hollywood?"

"But what in Hollywood?" Shawn grabbed the slip of paper, and noticed something. "Dude, the bottom's ripped! Which slice'd you get this out of?"

"Uh..." Gus dug through the pile of crusts. "Got it!"

_Her name, not first, is where_

_You'll find it labelled by age_

"What?"

"So, um...her name, not first, would mean it's her last name, right?" Gus offered.

"So is that Spencer? Or Starling?" He sighed when Gus shrugged. "Right, we'll come back to that. Labelled by age...labelled by age...age of the building?"

"That's a number...buildings aren't usually organized by age."

"A number...fifteen! Fifteen, she's fifteen years old. Fifteen Starling...something. Starling Road, Starling Street, Starling - "

"Avenue?" Gus already had his phone out. "Fifteen Starling Avenue, Los Angeles, California."

"Yes! Gus, yes!"

* * *

**ARIA HAS 9 HOURS LEFT TO LIVE**

The rain fell in sheets around the car, nearly blinding Gus as he tried to look in the rearview mirror.

"Is there any way we can - "

"Shawn, we're in bumper-to-bumper traffic here. Unless you somehow can make all these cars disappear, there's nothing we can do about it."

Shawn let out a sigh. Gus was right, as much as he hated to admit it. But every minute they spent kissing the bumper of the car in front of them was one minute less for them to find her. The weather did nothing to help the mood - the tension was as heavy as the rain, and for a good half hour, neither man said anything.

Finally, Gus spoke. "Shawn, I know this is hard for you." Shawn didn't respond. "It's hard for me too, okay? I know she's important. She's become important. But if worst comes to worst, I don't want you to be hurt any more than you need to be, and I just wanted to know that if...if we don't - "

"There is no _if_, Gus." Shawn's voice was deadly quiet, the faintest trace of anger permeating his tone. "We are going to find her."

"Shawn - "

"She's important to him, too, okay? He travelled all the way from New York to find her, there has to be some reason for that. I don't think he'd just ki - " He stopped, unable to go on.

Gus took a deep breath. "I'm just saying, if - I mean...look, Shawn, you have to take into account the possibility that something will go wrong. I'm not saying we aren't going to find her, but it's already..." He paused to check his watch. "...it's already four a.m. We're running out of time - "

"I know, man! All right? I know we might not find her, or that he might kill her either way, but I can't...I can't not take the opportunity to find her. I messed up." He rubbed his face. "I was supposed to look out for her. I didn't even do that great a job, because I'm just not parent material, okay, I'm not responsible or organized or...or..."

"Shawn, you can't blame yourself for everything that's happened."

"I should have known, Gus! I should have - the way she acted, I should have seen..."

"Seen what, Shawn? You aren't psychic, and neither am I. None of us could have seen this coming, okay?" He was met with silence. "Shawn, this is not your fault."

Shawn stared straight ahead at the strange, dreamy glow of the traffic lights as distorted by the rain. "Yeah, well, agree to disagree."

* * *

**ARIA HAS 1 HOUR LEFT TO LIVE**

They re-entered the city tired and defeated. Somewhere, between traveling back and forth through the storm from Santa Barbara, to Los Angeles, then back to Santa Barbara again, they'd made up, the tension giving way to a camaraderie born of stress and sadness. Gus had always been there for Shawn, and always would be, and he knew his feelings were reciprocated. Decades of friendship - siblinghood, really - had forged an eternally unbreakable bond between them.

But even that bond couldn't resurrect Number Fifteen, Starling Avenue, which had been torn down five years prior, a fact that had gone unmentioned by Google Maps.

_He was playing with us._

Shawn felt empty at the thought. _Of course he was._ Half of him was aware of how completely exhausted he and Gus were, both physically and mentally, but the other part was stubborn. _Can't give up. Can't give up. Can't give up._

He didn't want to give up, truly he didn't. But the LA lead led to nothing, he'd called Jules only to discover that they had nothing back at the station, and none of them had any idea of what to do next, but watch the seconds of Aria's life tick away.

_We lost. He won. It's that simple. I can't bel - _His train of thought was interrupted by the vibration of his phone. "Jules!"

"Shawn, we just found something. You need to get down here, now." Her voice, usually so peppy and full of optimism, was low, solemn, so different from the Juliet he knew.

"Jules? What happ - "

"I'll see you soon," she said, and hung up on him.

* * *

"Dad, what is it, Jules said - "

"They found a package left on the steps of the station about ten minutes ago." Before Shawn or Gus could ask anything further, Henry led them to the debriefing area, where Chief Vick, Juliet, Lassiter, and most of the officers on duty were waiting.

The Chief launched into speech without bothering to greet either Shawn or Gus. "Ten minutes ago, Officer McNab found a package left on the steps of the station. This was inside." She hit a button on the remote in her hand, turning on a video on the projector at the front of the room.

The video was low-quality, fuzzy, and poorly lit, but it was still clear enough that Shawn's heart dropped the second it began.

_"Hey, guys."_

The girl on the screen smiled weakly. Her hair was a mess, her bottom lip was split, and her face was littered with cuts and bruises, but her large brown eyes still sparkled, and her voice, even rusty and strained as it was, was unmistakable.

_"It's me."_

* * *

**_Hola, beautiful people! Muchas gracias to TheShulesLovinPsycho and Broadwaygirl21 for the reviews! _**

**_TSLP: Don't worry, I totally get what you mean! :) How about a hug from the whole cast of Psych (and me)? And I know, I'm an evil cliffhanger-creating author, but I swear to God, I do it out of love. ;)_**

**_Broadwaygirl21: STOP I LITERALLY SPENT HALF MY SUMMER LISTENING TO THAT SONG ON REPEAT BECAUSE BARRETT IS BARRETT AND SHE'S PERFECTION. We really are twins :) Another incredible Barrett song is "Orphan Girl": her emotions in it, her voice...ugh, too perfect._**

**_That's all for now, folks! Again, thank you so much to everyone reading this, it means so much to know people are enjoying this. I love you guys!_**

**_xoxo,_**

**_DoeEyedDarling_**


	19. As The Teacup Shatters

**Hey there, darlings, long time no see! Lol ;) I have a couple of reasons for posting this so soon: 1) It's really, really, _really_ short, 2) my school Shakespeare opens in two weeks and we have rehearsal and tech every day until then, so I might not get a chance to update, and 3) HOMEWORK. My teachers just loooooove giving us homework. -_- **

**A million thanks to TheShulesLovinPsycho for reviewing! Also, you guys broke 2,500 VIEWS and 40 REVIEWS! ****_AHHHHHHH_ #excited (Yes, I really just hashtagged. I'm so, so sorry...)**

**TSLP: MwahahahahahahahahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *continues laughing evilly* Anywayyyyyy...here's your update! Although I'm not really sure if this chapter's cliffhanger is any less bearable than the last...;)**

**WARNING: This chapter is pretty short. I wrote this in one sitting, without stopping, and...*whew.* It was emotional, for me at least. I have a habit of getting pretty attached to characters (I'm also one of those people who talks to TV screens and books while watching/reading, because I get that into it and because I'm weird like that), so...yeah. **

**Hope you enjoy it, though. :)**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: As The Teacup Shatters

Aria looked directly at the camera as she spoke. "So, _um,__ I know it's unlikely that I'm going to get out of this alive, and I just wanted to say goodbye."_ Her swollen lower lip trembled, and she bit it, trying to keep from crying. _"Um, Lassie, I'm sorry I was so annoying. But I'm glad you liked the coffee. Mocha Cookie Crumble, only forty twenty seven at Starbucks." _She choked out a laugh before continuing, _"Jules, I never really talked to you that much, and I'm kind of not okay with that. I wish I'd gotten to know you better, but, uh, I just wanted to let you know that Shawn really, really cares about you. Even if he won't admit it now. So, be nice to him, okay? For me."_

Both Shawn and Juliet stiffened, suddenly uncomfortable. _Well, that got awkward fast..._

_"Dobson..." _The girl let out another cough-laugh._ "Okay, to be totally honest, I have no idea who the hell you are. But I heard about you all the time, so I'm guessing you did a lot for the force, so...kudos to you, Dobson. I wish I could have said that under slightly better circumstances, but, hey, I gotta go with the flow." _Everyone's heads swiveled to look at Dobson. _"So...yeah. Stay cool, Dobson."_

_"Henry, thank you so much for everything - for letting me stay at your house even though we'd never really met before. I mean, New York City's pretty far away, and the fact that you just took me in like that...oh, and thank you for teaching me chess. And for letting me win. Yes, I knew. Shawn told me. But. Still. Thank you._

_"Gus, I'm gonna miss geeking out with you, buddy. Um, I left my copy of Catching Fire under my pillow. I want you to have it. Okay? And when Mockingjay comes out, I'm gonna be right there behind your shoulder the whole time, reading it with you. Wow, um, that sounded way creepier out loud than it did in my head. But I'll miss you. So. Yeah." _Shawn didn't have to turn around to know that Gus was crying.

_"And Shawn..." _By this point, Aria's voice was a dull rasp from all the talking, and Shawn had to strain his ears to hear what she was saying. _"Shawn, you were the best cousin and legal guardian a girl could ask for, and a pretty damn good psychic, too. I don't regret coming to Santa Barbara, I don't regret falling asleep in the Psych office, I don't regret any of it. I do regret dragging you guys into this, though. I'm so, so sorry." _Her words were even harder to make out through her sobs. _"You'll be a great dad someday. Really, though. I mean, if there's one thing I've learned from all of this, it's that you never know how much time you're gonna have. Don't...don't waste it, this opportunity you have, okay?" _Without realizing it, Shawn nodded, trying to communicate with her through the screen.

_I'm sorry, too, Aria. I'm sorry i couldn't protect you._

_"So, uh, I'm really sorry you guys had to see this, you know, all of these tears I'm shedding right now, 'cause I'm a hideous crier," _she laughed, wiping her eyes. Shawn couldn't help but notice the awkward flow of the phrase, especially the way she emphasized _shedding._ He soon forgot, distracted by what happened next. _"And I'm really gonna miss you guys. Just, remember the good times. Like when we went cherry picking, all those trees on either side of the lane. Remember?" _She forced a smile. _"Think about that. And thank you. And I love you guys. Bye." _The camera moved to show a plain white ceiling, accompanied by a loud bang and a cry of pain.

The screen went black before they could even react.

* * *

**EMOTIONS. EMOTIONS ARE HAPPENING TO ME.**

**It was also around midnight when I wrote this. And it was the last day of summer. And I'm just an emotional person. And a hormonal teenager. In short, I didn't really have a chance. **

**So...reviews? Maybe? Please? I'm not gonna hold this story hostage (I hate it when authors do that), but reviews are always a great motivator to update sooner than usual...which I may or may not do... ****(even though my life is crazy and hectic, because I feel kinda bad about posting such a short chapter, and you should totally review anyway because you guys are cool like that *big grin*)**

**:)**

**Either way, until next time! (Which, hopefully, will be sooner rather than later because I somehow manage to make time for writing even when I should be doing homework or memorizing lines or music or other stuff. But oh well.)**

**Hugs and Kisses,**

**DoeEyedDarling**

**P.S.: Oh, and on a side note, the chapter title was a Hannibal reference, for all of my fellow Fannibals who read this. If you do watch Hannibal (and if you don't, go watch it. Unless you're a minor whose parents have expressly forbidden you from doing so, because it's kind of violent. But in terms of the non-violent parts, it's a really beautiful show...), then consider checking out my story Stray! I worked super hard on it, and the writing style in that story is COMPLETELY different from Songbird (because, I mean, Psych and Hannibal are COMPLETELY different shows), and I wanna know if it's any good. So. Yeah. :)**


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